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THE 



HISTORY 



OF THE 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 



FROM THE 



DISCOVERY OF THE CONTINENT 



CLOSE OF THE FIKST SESSION OF THE THIRTY- 
FIFTH CONGRESS. '-'■^- 



/<.No., 



■, -,\ 



J. H. PATTON, A.M. 



NEW YORK: 
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, 

346 & 348 BROADWAY. 
1860. 






Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S59, by 

J. H. PATTON, 

In the Clerk's Office of tlie District Court of tho United States for the Southern District 
of New York. 






% 



*C,^ 



PREFACE. 



Elaborate histories of the United States have been 
ably written ; compends, or school histories, and well 
adapted to the place they are designed to fiU, are 
numerous. Between these compends and the works 
extending to six or more volumes, there is room, as 
well as necessity, for a history that shall be sufficiently 
elaborate to trace the direct influences that have had a 
power in moidding the character of the nation and its 
institutions, moral and political — a volume that should 
present as fully as is consistent with this design, those 
events which are interesting in themselves, or charac- 
teristic of the times and people. Such a volume the 
author of this work has endeavored to supply. It is 
hoped the general reader wiU find in it a succinct as 
well as a comprehensive view of the subject, which of 
itself is worthy the study, especially of our own coun- 
trymen. 



IV PREFACE. 

While the author has availed himself of original 
authorities, he takes pleasure in acknowledging his ob- 
ligations, among others, to the following works : His- 
tories of the United States, by Bancroft, Hildreth, and 
Tucker ; Irving's Life of Washington ; C. W. Elliott's 
History of New England ; Broadhead's History of New 
York ; Benton's Thirty Years' View ; Abridgment of 
Debates in Congress, by the same author; Duyckiriok's 
Cyclopaedia of American Literature; Dr. Hawks' Con- 
tributions to the Ecclesiastical History of the United 
States ; Dr. Robert Baird's Rehgion in America. 

New Yoke, September, 1859. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

COLUMBUS. 

His Discoveries, 4 Misfortunes, 5. Death, 5. Amerigo Vespucci and tlie 
name America, 6. 

CHAPTER II 

ABORIGINES. 

CHAPTER III 

SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 

Soutli Sea, 11. First Voyage round the World, 11. Ponce de Leon, 12. 
Florida, Discovery and Attempt to Settle, 12. Vasquez de Ayllon, 13. 
Conquest of Mexico and Peru, 14. 

CHAPTER IV. 

ENGLISH AND FRENCH DISCOVERIES. 

John Cabot discovers the American Continent, 16. His son, Sebastian, 16. 
Voyages of Verrazzani, 17. Voyagesof Cartier, 18. Attempts at Set- 
tlement, 20. 

CHAPTER V. 

DE SOTO AND THE MISSISSIPPI. 

Lands at Tampa Bay, 23. On the Mississippi, 25. Death of De Soto, 26. 
CHAPTER VI. 

THE REFORMATION AND ITS EFFECTS. 

CHAPTER VIL 

THE HUGUENOTS IN THE SOUTH. 

Their Settlement destroyed, 30, 31. The Colony of St. Augustine, 32. De 
Gourges, 34. Settlements in New France, 35. Champlain, and his 
Success, 36. 



> 



I 



VI CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

ENGLISH ENTEEPKISE. 

Sir Humphrey Gilbert, 38. The Fisheries — St. John's, Newfoundland, 39. 
Sir Walter Ealeigh, 39. Exploring Expedition — Virginia, 40. Fail- 
ures to colonize, 41. Contest with Spain, 42. Death of Sir Walter, 43. 

CHAPTER IX. 

THE SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 

London and Plymouth Companies, 46. King James' Laws, 46. The Voy- 
age and Arrival — Jamestown, 47. John Smith; his energy, 47. His 
Captivity, 49. Misery of the Colonists, 50. New Emigrants, 51. 
Lord Delaware, 62. Sir Thomas Gates, 53. Pocahontas; her ■ ip- 
ture and Marriage, 54. George Yeardlej', 55. First Legislatiie As- 
■ sembly, 66. 

CHAPTER X. 

COIONIZATION OF NEW ENGLAND. 

First Voyage to, 57. Explorations of John Smith, 58. The Church of 
England, 69. The Puritans, 60'. Congregation of John Eoliinson, 61. 
Pilgrims in Holland, 62. Arrangements to emigrate, 63. The Voyage, 
65. Their prominent Men, 66. A Constitution adopted, 67. Landing 
at Plymoutli, 08. Sufferings — Indians, 69. Weston's Men, 71. Thanks- 
giving, 72. Democratic Government, 73. 

CHAPTER XI. 

COLONY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAT. 

A Company organized ; Settlement of Salem, 75. The Charter transferred, 
76. Boston and Vicinity settled, 77. Roger Williams ; his Banish- 
ment; he founds Providence, 78. Discussions renewed — Anne Hutchin- 
son ; Settlement of Rhode Island, 80. The Dutch at Hartford ; Dis- 
putes with, 81. Migrations to the Connecticut; Hoolier and Haynes, 
82. Pequod War, 84. Rev. John Davenport; Settlement of New 
Haven, 88. Sir Ferdinand Gorges ; New Hampshire, 89. The United 
Colonies, 90. Educated Men ; Harvard College, Printing Press, Com- 
mon Schools, 91. Qualiers ; Persecution of, 92. Eliot the Apostle — 
the Mayhews, 93. Progress, 94. 

CHAPTER XII. 

VIRGINIA AND M.4HTLAND. 

Slavery — Massacre by the Indians, 96. Lord Baltimore, 99. Settlement of 
Maryland, 100. Clayborne's Rebellion, 101. Toleration — Berkeley 
Governor of Virginia, Intolerance, 102. State of Society, 103. Aris- 
tocratic Assembly, 104. War with the Susquehannas — Nathaniel 
Bacon, 105. Disturbances, Obnoxious A.ssembly dissolved, 106. James- 
town burned ; Death of B.acon, 107. Tyranny of Berkeley ; Aristo- 
cratic Assembly; its Illiberal Acts, 108. Deplorable State of the 
Colonv, 109. College of William and Mary, 110. Troubles in Mary- 
land, ill. 



CONTENTS. VU 

CHAPTER XIII. 

COLONIZATION OF NEW YORK. 

Hudson's Discoveries, 112. A Clwinge ^vrought, 113. The Fort on the Isle 
of Manhattan, 114. Walloons — the first Settlers — Peter Minuits, 115. 
The Fatroons; Van Twiller Governor, 116. Kieft his Successor, 117. 
Difficulties with the Indians, 118. They seek Protection; their Mas- 
sacre, 119. Peace concluded, 122. Stuyvesant Governor, 123. The 
Swedish Settlement on the Delaware ; Pavonia, 124. New Netlierlands 
Surrendered to England, 126. The Influence of the Dutch, 12*7. 
Settlements in New Jersey; Scotch Presbyterians, 128. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

COLONIZATION OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

The Quakers, ISO. Wilham Penn ; his Education, 131. Obtains a Charter, 
133. Lands at New Castle ; Philadelphia founded, 134. Rights of the 
Indians, 135. German Emigrants, 136. Fletcher the Royal Governor, 
137. New Charter granted the People — Presbyterians from Ireland 
and Scotland, 138. Trials of Penn ; his Death — Benjamin Franklin, 139. 

CHAPTER XV. 

COLONIZATION OF THE CAKOLINAS. 

The first Settlers, 141. Grants to^oyal Favorites— The " Grand Model," 
142. Settlement at Cape Fear River — Sir John Teamans, 143. Emi- 
grants under Sayle, 144. The Huguenots, 145. The People Independ- 
ent, 146. Churchmen and Dissenters, 147. Rice — Manufactures pro- 
hibited, 148. War — Failure to capture St. Augustine, 149. The Ruiu 
of the Apalachees, 150. Rehgious Controversies, 151. Indian Wars — 
German Emigrants, 162. The People repudiate the Authority of the 
Proprietaries, 155. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

COLONIZATION OF GEOKGIA. 

Founded in Benevolence — Oglethorpe, 156. First Emigration, 157. Sa- 
vannah — Encouragements, 158. Germans from the "W'estern Alps, 159. 
The Moravians — Scotch Highlanders, 161. The Wesleys — Whitefield; 
his Orphan House, 162. War with Spain ; its Cause, 163. Failure to 
capture St. Augustine, 104. Repulse of the Spanish Invaders, 165. 
The Colony becomes a Royal Province, 166. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

The Restoration, 167. The Commissioners — Progress of Trade, 168. 
Causes of King Philip's War, 169. Death of Wamsutta, 170. State of 
the Colony — Attack at Swanzey, 171. Phihp among the Nipmucks, 
172. Attacks on Northfield— on Hadley, Gofle, 173. Tragedy at 
Bloody Brook — The Narraganset Fort destroyed, 174. Philip returns 
to Mount Hope to die, 175. Disasters of the War, 176. James II. — 
his Intolerance, 177. The Charters in danger — Andros Governor — his 
Illegal Measures, 178. Charter of Rhode Island taken away — Andros 
at Hartford, 179. Andros in Jail ; the Charters resumed, 180. The 
Men of influence, 181. 



Tin CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

COMMOTION IN NEW YORK — WITCHCRAFT IN MASSACHUSETTS. 

Leislor acting Governor of New York, 182. The Old Council refuses to 
yield — Slougliter Governor, 183. Trial and Execution of Leisler and 
Melbourne, 1 84. Benjamin Fletcher, Governor ; his failure at Hartford, 
185. Yale College, 186. The Triumph of a Free Press, 187. Witch- 
craft; beUef in, 1S8. Cotton Mather, 189. Various Persons accused 
at Salem, 190. Stoughton as Judge, and Parris as Accuser, 191. 
Minister Burroughs, 192. Calef's Pamphlet, 193. Mather's stand in 
favor of Inoculation, 194. 

CHAPTER SIX. 

MISSIONS AND SETTLEMENTS IN NEW FRANCE 

The Emigrants, 196. The Jesuits; their zeal as Teachers and Explorers, 
197. The Chief Ahasistari, 198. The Five Nations, or Iroquois, 199. 
Father Jogucs, 200. TheAbenakis; Dreuilottes, 201. French Settlers 
at Oswego — Father Allouez, 202. James Marquette — The Mississippi, 
203. La Salle, 204. His Enterprise ; his Failure and Tragical End, 206. 

CHAPTER XX. 

MARAUDING EXPEDITIONS; SETTLEMENT OP LOUISIANA; CAPTURE OF 
LOUISBURG. 

Mohawks hostile to the French, 208. Dover attacked ; Major Waldron, 209. 
Schenectady burned — the inhuman Frontenac, 210. The Colonists act 
for themselves — Invasion of Canada, 211. Heroism of Hannah Dustin, 
212. Deerfiold taken; Eunice WiUiams, 213. D'Ibberville plants a 
Colony on the Pascagoula, 215. Trading Posts on the IlUnois and the 
Mississippi, 216. The Choctaws, 217. Destructionof theNiitchez, 218. 
Attemptsto subdue the Chickasaws, 219. King George's War ; Capture 
of Louisburg, 220. The English Ministry alarmed, 222. Jonathan 
Edwards— The " Great Revival," 223. Princeton College, 224. 

CHAPTER XXI. 

FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 

The Valley of the Ohio— French and English Claimants, 225. Gist, the 
Pioneer, 226. George Washington, 227. His Character — His Mission 
to the French on the Alleghany, 229. St. Pierre's Letter unsatisfac- 
tory, 231. Fort du Quosno built — Washington sent to defend the 
Frontiers, 232. The first Conflict of the War— Fort Necessity, 233. 
British Troops arrive in America, 234. Plan of Operations — General 
Braddock, 235. The Army on th March— Captain Jack, 236. The 
Battle of Monongahela, 238. Death and Burial of Braddock, 240. 
Dunbar's Panic — The Effects of these Events, 241. 

CHAPTER XXn. 

FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR — CONTINUED. 

The French Acadiens — Their Industry and good Morals, 243. The'ir 
Mournful Exile, 246. Expedition against Crown Point, 248. The 



CONTENTS. IX 

Englisli defeated — Death of Colonel Williams, 249. Repulse of the 
French — Death of Dieskau — Williams College, 250. Kittauing destroy- 
ed, 251. Montcalm acts with Energy, 253. Fort William Henrytaken. 
254. Canada Exhausted, 255. 

CHAPTER XXni. 

FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR — CONTINUED. 

William Pitt, Prime Minister, 256. Lord Amherst — Plan of Operations — • 
Louisburg captured, 257. English repulsed — Fort Frontenac captured, 
258. Washington takes Possession of Fort Du Quesne, 259. Pitts- 
burg, 260. The French abandon Ticonderoga, 261. Wolfe before 
Quebec, 262. The Battle on the Heights of Abraham, 264. Deaths of 
Wolf and Montcalm — their Memories, 265. Quebec Capitulates — 
Cherokee War, 266. Destruction of their Crops and Villages, 268. 
Pontiac, 269. Desolations along the Frontiers, 270. General Bouquet, 
271. Pontiac's Death, 272. 

CHAPTER XXIY. 

CHARACIEEISTICS OF THE COLONISTS. 

Religious Influences among the early Settlers, 273. Love of domestic Life, 
274. Laws enjoining Morality, 275. Systems of Education ; Common 
Schools, 276. Free Inquiry and Civil Liberty, 277. John Calvin — The 
Anglo-Saxon Element ; the I^orman, 278. The Southerner ; the 
Northerner — Influences in Pennsylvania, 279. In New York— Diver- 
sity of Ancestry, 280. 

CHAPTER XXV. 

CAUSES THAT LED TO THE KEVOLUTION. 

Restrictions of Trade and Manufactures — Taxes imposed by Parliament, 
282. Writs of Assistance, 283. James Otis — Samuel Adams, 284. 
The "Parsons'" Case in Virginia — Patrick Henry, 285. Colonel 
Barre's Speech — The Stamp Act, 287. Excitement in the Colonies — 
Resolutions not to use Stamps, 289. " Sons of Liberty," 290. A Call 
for a Congress ; it Meets, 291. Self-denial of the Colonists — Pitt de- 
fends them, 292. Stamp Act repealed — Rejoicings, 293. Dartmouth 
College, 294. 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

CAUSES THAT LED TO THE REVOLUTION — CONTINUED. 

The English Ministry determine to obtain a Revenue, 295. Massachusetts 
invites to harmonious Action, 296. The Sloop Liberty — A British 
Regiment at Boston, 297. Collision with the Citizens — Articles of As- 
sociation proposed by Washington, 298. Tax upon Tea, 299. The 
Gaspe captured, 300. The Resolutions not to receive the Tea, 301. 
Tea thrown into Boston Harbor — Its Reception at other Places, 303. 
Boston Port BiU— Aid sent to Boston, 304. Gage's Difiaculties, 305. 
Alexander Hamilton, 306. The Old Continental Congress— The first 
Prayer, 307. The Papers issued by the Congress, 309. Views of Pitt 
in relation to them, 310. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 



The Spirit of tlie people, 311. They seize Guns and Ammunition, 312 
The Massachusetts Provincial Congress; its Measures, 313. The Re 
straining Bill, 314. Conflicts at Lexington and Concord, 315. Vol, 
untcers fly to Arms, and beleaguer Boston — Stark — Putnam, 317 
Benedict Arnold — Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys, 318' 
Capture of Ticonderoga, 319. Lord Dunraore in Virginia — Henry and 
the Independent Companies, 320. The Xews from Lexington rouses a 
Spirit of Kesistance, 3'Jl. The Second Continental Congress, 323. Its 
Measures, 324. Adopts the Army before Boston, and appoints Wash- 
ington Commander-in-Chief, 325. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

THE WAR OP THE REVOLUTION. 

Battle of Bunker Hill, 328. Death of Warren — Generals Charles Lee and 
Philip Schuyler, ,S33. State of Affairs in New York— Sir William 
Johnson, 334. Condition of the Army, 335. Nathaniel Greene — 
Morgan and his Riflemen, 336. Wants of the Army, 337. Expedition 
against Canada, 338. Richard Montgomerj- — Allen's rash Adventure, 
339. Montreal captured — Arnold's toilsome March to Quebec, 340. 
That Place besieged, 341. Failure to Storm the Town — Death of 
Montgomery, 342. Arnold in his Icy Fortress, 343. 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

TVAR or THE BETOLUTION — CONTINUED. 

Aleeting of Congress — Alarming Evils, 344. Portland burned — Efforts to 
defend the Coast, 345. Parliament resolves to crush the Rebels, 346. 
Henry Knox, 347. Difficulties in the Army — Provincial Prejudices, 

348. Success of the Privateers — British Theatricals — -The Union Flag, 

349. Affairs in New York — Rivington's Gazette, 350. Governor 
Tryon — General Lee in the City, 351. Dunmore's Measures — Norfolk 
burned, 352. Defeat of North Carolina Tories, 353. Cannon and 
Powder obtained, 355. Dorchester Heights fortified — Boston evacuat- 
ed, 356. Washington in New York, 357. Numerous Disasters — Re- 
treat from Canada, 359. Horatio Gates, 300. A British Fleet before 
Fort Moultrie, 361. Gloomy Prospects, 362. 

CHAPTER XXX. 

WAR OF THE EETOLUTION— CONTINUED. 

The Question of Independence ; Influences in favor of, 364. The Tories — 
Common Sense, 366. The Declaration ; its Reception Iiy the People 
and Army, 368. Arrival of Admiral Howe, 369. His Overtures for 
Reconciliation, 370. The American Army ; its Composition, Sectional 
Jealousies, 371. The Chntons, 372. Battle of Long Island, 373. The 
Masterly Retreat, 376. Incidents, 377. Howe confers with a Com- 
mittee of Congress, 378. Nathan Hale, 879. The British at Kipp's 
Bay, 380. New York evacuated, SSI. Conflict at White Plains, 382. 
Loss of Fort Washington, 384. Retreat across New Jersey, 3S5. 
Waywardness of Lee, 386. 



CONTENTS. XI 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

■WAR OF THE EETOLUTIOX — CONTINDED. 

Discouragements — Howe's Proclamation, 3S1. Affairs on Lake Chaniplain, 
388. Heroism of ArnolJ, 889. Capture of Lee, 390. Battle of 
Trenton, 392. Battle of Princeton, 398. Death of Mercer, 399. 
Washington returns to Morristown, 400. CornwaUis in his Unes at 
Brunswick, 4ol. Putnam at Princeton, 402. Ill treatment of Ameri- 
can Prisoners, 403. Appointment of General Officers, Muhleuburg, 
AVayne, Conway — Medical Department, 404. The Navy, 405. Ex- 
peditions — Peekskill — Danbury, 406. Death of Wooster — Retaliation at 
Sag Harbor, 407. Schuyler and Gates, 408. The National Flag, 409. 

CHAPTER XXXIL 

WAB OF THE REVOLUTION OONTINCED. 

The Struggle excites an Interest in England and France, 410. Privateers 
fitted out in France, 411. Munitions of War, 412. Howe's Manoeu- 
vres, 413. Burgoyne on his Way from Canada, 414. Ticonderoga 
captured, 415. St. Clair's Retreat, 410. Capture of General Prcscott 
— The secret Expedition — The American Army at Germantown, 417. 
Lafayette, 418. Pulaski and Kosciusko, 419. Aid sent to Schuyler — 
Howe lands at Elkton, 420. Battle of Brandy wine, 421. Possession 
taken of Philadelphia — Battle of Germantown, 424. Hessians repulsed 
at Fort Mercer, 426. Winter Quarters at Valley Forge, 427. 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 

■WAR OF THE REVOLUTION — CONTINUED. 

Invasion from Canada — Appointment of General Gates, 428. Jenny 
JlcCrea, 429. St. Leger besieges Fort Stanwix, 430. The Attempt 
to relieve it, 431. Battle of Bennington, 432. Change of Prospect.'), 
433. Battle of Behmus's Heights, 4.34. Ticonderoga besieged, 435. 
BurgoyuG surrenders his Army at Saratoga, 436. The Prisoners — 
Capture of Forts on the Hudson, 438. Schuyler, 439. 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

•WAR OF THE REVOLUTION — CONTINUED 

Sufferings at Valley Forge, 440. England disappointed — Conciliatory Meas- 
ures of Parliament, 441. The War presses hard upon the American 
People, 442. Difficulties in Congress, 443. The " Conway Cabal," 
444. Baron Steuben, 446. Attempt to increase the Army, 447 
Exchange of Lee ; his Treason, 448. Treaty with France — British 
Commissioners, 449. Battle of Monmouth, 450. Misconduct of Lcc, 
461. His death, 452. Combined attack upon Newport fails, 453. 
Massacre at Wypming — at Cherry Valley, 454. Invasion of Georgia, 
456. 

CHAPTER XXXV. 

■WAR OF THE REVOLUTION — CONTINUED, 

Dissensions in Congress, 457. Expedition against the Indians, 458. The 
War in the South, 459. Marauding Expeditions sent to Virginia, and 



XU CONTENTS. 

up the HudsoD^Tryon ravages Connecticut, 460. Wayne captures 
Stony Point, 461. Lee surprises the Garrison at Jersey City — Com- 
bined assault upon Savannah, 402. Daniel Boone, 463. George 
Rogers Clarke; KaskasUia— Pioneers of Tennessee; Nashville, 464. 
John Paul Jones, 465. 

CHAPTER XXXVI. 

WAR or TUE REVOLUTION — CONTINUED. 

Hardships of the Soldiers, 466. British Success at the South, 4C7. Colo- 
nel Tarleton, 468. Charleston capitulates — Defeat at Waxhaws, 469. 
Rev. James Caldwell, 470. Maraud into Jersey, 471. French Fleet at 
Newport- — The Partisan Leaders iu the South, 472. Gates in Com- 
mand — Disastrous Battle of Camden, 474. Death of De Kalb, 475. 
Sumter's Success and Defeat, 476. The Treason of Arnold — Mnior 
Andre, 477. Movements of Cornwallis, 479. Colonel Ferguson--! ae 
Battle of King's Mountain, 480. Tarleton repulsed, 482. Greene in 
Command — British triumphant in the South — Affairs in Europe, 483. 
Henry Laurens — Dangers of England; her Energy, 484. 

CHAPTER XXXVn. 

WAR OF THE REVOLUTION — CONTINUED. 

The Spirit of Revolt among the Soldiers, 486. Arnold ravages the Shores 
of the Chesapeake, 488. Battle of the Cowpens, 489. Morgan re- 
treats; Cornwallis pursues, 491. Greene marches South — Lee scatters 
the Tories, 493. Battle of Guildford Court House, 494. Conflict at 
Hobkirk's Hill, 495. The Execution of Hayne, 496. Battje of Eutaw 
Springs, 497. Plans to capture New York, 498. Wayne's Daring at 
James River, 499. Nation.al Finances — Robert Morris, 500. Clinton 
deceived — Combined Armies beyond the Delaware, 501. French Fleet 
in the Chesapeake, 602. New London burned by Arnold, 503. The 
Attack, 504. Cornwallis Surrenders, 505. Thanksgivings, 506. 

CHAPTER XXXVIIL 

CLOSING EVENTS OF THE WAR — FORMATION OF THE CONSTITUTION. 

British Efforts Paralyzed, 608. The States form Independent Govern- 
ments — Indian Wars, 509. Massacre of the Christian Delawares — Bat- 
tle of the Blue Lick, 610. Lord North — Commissioners of Peace, 511. 
Peace concluded — Dissatisfaction in the American Army, 512. The 
"Anonymous Address," 513. British Prisoners ; the Tories, 514. Dis- 
bandment of the Army — Washington takes leave of his Officers, 515. 
Resigns his Commission, 516. Shay's Rebellion, 518. Interests of the 
States clash, 519. The Constitutional Convention, 520. The Consti- 
tution — its Ratification, 521. The Territory North-west of the Ohio, 
522. Ecclesiastical Organizations, 62P. 

CHAPTER XXXIX. 

Washington's administration. 

Reception and Inauguration of the President, 528. An Era in human 
Progress, 529. The Dep.irtments of Stale organized, 530. Hamil- 
ton's Financial Report, 631. Congress Assumes the Debts of the Na- 
tion — Nation.il Bank, 532. Commercial Enterprise — Manufactures, 533. 
Indian War, 534. St. Clair defeated, 536. Wayne defeats the In- 



CONTENTS. Xm 

dians, 536. Political Parties — Jefferson, 537. Tlie French Revolution, 
638. Genet arrives as French Minister — Xeutrality proclaimed by the 
President — Democratic Societies, 5;.9. The Partisans of France — Re- 
call of Genet, 540. The first Settlers of Western Pennsylvania, 5il. 
The Whiskey Insurrection, 54'.i. Special Mission to Great Britain, 543. 
A Treaty concluded, 544. Other Treaties, 545. Washington's Farewell 
Address, 546. 

CHAPTER XL. 

JOHN ADAJIS'S ADMINISTRATION'. 

Serious Aspect of Relations with France, 547. Commissioners of Peace, 
548. Tlie French Cruisers, 549. The Alien Act — War impending, 
550. Washington Commander-in-Chief — Capture of the Frigate L'ln- 
surgente, 551. Peace concluded — Death of Washington, 552. Eulo- 
giums on his Character, 553. The city of Washington becomes the 
Seat of Government, 554. 

CHAPTER XLI. 

Jefferson's administration. 

The President's Inaugural, 655. Purchase of Louisiana, 656. Pirates in 
the Mediterranean, 567. Burning of the Philadelphia, 658. Tripoli 
Bombarded, 559. Death of Hamilton, 560. Aaron Burr, 661. Oppo- 
sition to the Navy — Gunboats, 562. The Rights of Neutrals — The un- 
just Decrees issued by England and France, 663. Impressment of 
American Seamen, 564. Treaty with England rejected by the Presi- 
dent — Affair of the Chesapeake, 566. The Embargo ; its effect, 568. 
Manufactures, 569. The Embargo repealed, 570. 

CHAPTER XLH. 

Madison's administration. 

Condition of the Country — Erskine's Negotiations, 571. Depredations upon 
American Commerce — The Rambouillet Decree, 573. Affair of the 
Little Belt, 574. The Census — Indian Troubles — Tecumseh and the 
Prophet, 576. Battle of Tippecanoe, 677. The two Parties— The 
Twelfth Congress— Henry Clay— John C. Calhoun, 578. Threatening 
Aspect of Foreign Relations, 679. Debates in Congress — John Ran- 
dolph, 580. Another Embargo, 583. War declared against Great 
Britain, 584. The Academy at West Point, 585. Riots at Baltimore, 
586. Operations in the North-west, 587. Surrender of Hull, 588. 
Impressment of American Seamen, 588. American Ships in English 
Ports, 589. Failures to invade Canada, 590. 

CHAPTER XLin. 

Madison's administration — continced. 

Vessels of the Navy, 593. The chase of the Constitution — Capture of the 
Alert, 594. 'The Guerritre — Incidents, 595. The Macedonian — The 
Frohc — The Java, 596. The effects of these Naval Conflicts in the 
United States and England, 697. Plan of Operations — Harrison ad- 
vances on Detroit, 599. General Winchester a Prisoner; Indian Bar- 
barities — The Keutuckians fall into an Ambuscade, 600. Repulse at 



Xiv CONTENTS. 

Fort Stephenson — The los3 of the Chesapeake, 601. Perry's Victory, 
602. Battle of the Thames — Andrew Jackson, 603. Leads an E.xpe- 
dition; its Termination, GOo. York captured; Death of General Pike, 
506. Failures, 607. Newark burned ; the severe Retaliation, 608. 
Ravages on Shores of the Chesapeake — Indian War in the South, 609. 
Jackson and others in the Field — Battle of the Great Horse Shoe, 610. 
Captain Porter's Cruise, 611. 

CHAPTER XLIV. 

Madison's administration — continued. 

The Thirteenth Congress; its Members — Daniel Webster, 613. Manifesto 
of the British Government, 6] 4. Embarrassments — Commissioners of 
Peace, 615. Jacob Brown — Winfield Scott — Wilkinson unsuccessful, 
617. Battle of Lundy's Lane, 618. Battle on Lake Champlain, 621. 
The British on the Shores of the Chesapeake, 623. Bladcnsburg • -.5. 
Capture of Washington — Public Buildings burned, 626. Defence of 
. Fort McHenry — Death of General Ross, 627. Bombardment of Ston- 
ington — Distress in New England, 628. Debates in Congress, 629. 
Hartford Convention, 630. 

CHAPTER 5LV. 

Madison's admi.sisikatiox — concluded. 

Jackson enters Pensacola, 633. New Orleans defenceless — The British 
land, 634. Jackson's Measures of Defence, 635. Battle of New Or- 
leans, 636. The Distress of the Country— The Relief, 638. Treaty of 
Peace, 639. Frigate President captured, 640. War with Algiers, 641. 
Treaty with the Indians — National Bank — State of Indiana, 642. John 
Fitch— Robert Fulton — First Steamboat, 643. 

CHAPTER SLVI. 

Monroe's administration. 

A Return to the earlier Policy of the Government, 644. The President's 
Tour in the Eastern States — The Colonization Society, 645. Revolu- 
tions in the Spanish Colonies — Indian War, 646. General Jackson iu 
the Field — Purchase of Florida, 647. The Missouri Compromise, 648. 
The Monroe Doctrine — Financial Distress, 652. Increase of Tariff — 
Visit of Lafayette, 653. 

CHAPTER XLVII. 

JOHN QUINCY ADAMs' ADMINISTRATION. 

Manufactures and Internal Improvements. 655. Indian Lands in Geor- 
gia, 666. Death of the ex-Presidei-.s Thomas JeSerson and John 
Adams, 657. Free Masonry — Protection to American Industry, 658. 
Debates in Congress — Presidential Contest, 660. 

CHAPTER XLVIIL 

Jackson's administration. 

Appointments to Office, 661. Removal of the Indians from Georgia, 662. 
Bank of the United States, 663. Hayne and Webster's Debate — Null'- 



CONTENTS. XV 

fication, 664. The Compromise Bill ; its final Passage, 667. RemovlB 
of the Deposits, 668. Efifeet upon the Country — Indian Wars, 669. 
Osceola — Death of Judge Marshall, 670. Indemnity for French Spolia- 
tions, 671. 

CHAPTER XLIX. 

VAN buren's administration. 

Apparent Prosperity, 673. The Specie Circular — Distribution of the Sur- 
plus Funds — Speculation, 674. The Sub-Treasury, 675. State Indebt- 
edness, 676. 

CHAPTER L. 

HARRISON AND TILEE's ADMINISTRATION. 

The Inauguration, 677. Death of Harrison ; Tyler President, 678. Bank- 
rupt Law — The Bank Charters; their Vetoes, 679. Proposition to 
treat with fireat Britain — Insurrection in Canada — The Caroline, 680. 
Trial of McLeod, 681. Boundary Disputes in Maine — Ti-eaty of Wash- 
ington, 682. Questions of Visit .and Impressment, 683. Exploring 
Expedition, 684. Texas Colonization ; Struggles, 68.5. Siege of the 
Alamo, 686. Davy Crockett — Goliad, Siege of — Massacre of Prisoners, 
687. Battle of San Jacinto, 688. Houston President — Question of 
Annexation in Congress, 689. Texas Annexed — Disturbances in Rhode 
Island, 691. Iowa and Florida become States, 692. 

CHAPTER LL 

folk's ADMINISTRATION. 

Difficulties with Mexico, 694. General Taylor at Corpus Christi, 695. 
Oregon Territory ; respective Claims to, 696. Settlement of Boundary, 

698. Taylor marches to the Rio Grande — Thornton's Party surprised, 

699. Attack on Fort Brown, 700. Battle of Palo Alto, 701. Battle 
of Resaca de la Palma, 702. Matamoras occupied — Measures of Con- 
gress, 704. The Volunteers — Plan of Operations — Mexico declares 
War, 705. Capture of Monterey, 707. 

CHAPTER LII. 

pole's ADMINISTRATION — COXTINOED. 

The President hopes for Peace — Santa Anna, 710. Hostilities to be renewed, 
712. Troops withdrawn from General Taylor — Volunteers arrive at 
Monterey, 713. Santa Anna's Plans and Preparations, 714. Taylor 
advances to Agua Nueva, 715. Battle of Buena Vista, 716. The Mex- 
ican Chiefs Urrea and Romero. 

CHAPTER LIII 

folk's administratio.n' — continued. 

Emigration to Oregon, 732. John C. Fremont ; his Explorations, 733. 
Difficulties with the Mexican Governor, 733. American Settlers in 
alarm, 736. California free — Monterey on the Pacific captured, 737. 
— Commodoi'cs Sloat and Stockton — E.xpedition of Kearney, 738. 
Santa Fe taken; a Government organized, 739. Doniphan's Expedi- 



^^l CONTENTS. 

t!on, Y40. El Paso taken, 742. Chihuahua occupied, 743. An Insur- 
rection ; Its Suppressien, 744. Trial of Fremont, 745. 

CHAPTER LIT. 

folk's administration — concluded. 

ilovement of Troops, 746. Vera Cruz invested, 747. Its Bombardment and 
Capitulation, 748. Santa Anna's Energy, 749. Battle of Cerro Gordo 
750. General Scott at PneWa— His Misunderstandings with the Au- 
thorities at Washington, 751. N. P. Trist, Commissioner 752 Dis- 
sensions in Mexico, 754. Scott's Manifesto, 755. Advance upon the 
Capital, 756. Battle of Contreras, 767. Of Churiibusco, 758. At- 
tempts to obtain Peace, 760. Conflict of Molino del Key, 761. The 
C.astle of Chapultepee captured, 762. The American Army enters the 
City, 763. Santa Anna again in the Field, 764. Treaty of Peace, 765. 
Misunderstandings among the American Officers, 766. Conditions of the 
Peace— Discovery of Gold in California, 7«7. The Eflects— Death 
of John Quincy Adams, 768. Wilmot Proviso, 769. The Presidential 
Election— Death of Mr. Polk, 770. 

CHAPTER LV. 

TAYLOR AND FILLMORe's ADMINISTRATION. 

Discussion on Slavery— Wilmot Proviso, 772. The Powers of the Constitu- 
tion ; their AppUcation in the Territories, 774. The President's Mes 
sage ; its Recommendations, 776. Debate on the Omnibus Bill, 777 
Death of Calhoun— Death of President Tavlor— Fillmore Inaugurated, 
778. The Fugitive Slave Law, 779. The Mormons ; their Origin, 
780. Troubles— Settlement in Utah, 781. A Disunion Convention, 781. 
Lopez invades Cuba, 782. Search for Sir John FranUin— Dr. E. K. 
Kane, 783. Death of Henry Clay ; of Daniel Webster, 784. The 
Tripartite Treaty, 784. 

CHAPTER LVL 

Pierce's administration. 

Purchase of the MesiUa Valley, 786. Treatv with Japan, 787. The Kan- 
sas-Nebraska Bill; the effects of the Measure, 788. Emigrants to 
Kansas, 789. Struggles and Conflicts, 790. James Buchanan, Presi- 
dent, 792. The Contest continues in Kansas, 793. National Prog- 
ress, 795. 



HISTORY 



UNITED STATES 



CHAPTEB I. 

COLUMBUS. 

His Discoveries, Misfortunes, and Death. — Amerigo Vespucci, and tlie name 

America. 

For nearly fifteen hundred years after the birth of our chap. 
Saviour, the great Western Continent was unknown to ' 
the inhabitants of the Old World. 1492. 

The people of Europe had looked upon the Atlantic 
Ocean as a boundless expanse of water, surrounding the 
land and stretching far away they knew not whither. 
This vast unknown, their imaginations had peopled with 
all sorts of terrible monsters, ever ready to devour those 
who should rashly venture among them. But the cloud 
of mystery and superstition that hung over this world of 
waters was now to be dispelled — a spirit of discovery was 
awakened in Europe. 

The Azores and Madeira Isles were already known. 
Mariners, driven out by adverse winds, had discovered 
them. Tradition told of islands stiU farther west, but as 
yet no one had gone in search of them. The attention of 
the people of maritime Europe was turned in the opposite 
direction ; they wished to find a passage by water to the 
eastern coasts of Asia. The stories told by those early 
I 



2 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, travellers, Sir John Mandeville and Marco Polo, had 

fired their imaginations ; they believed that among those 

1492. distant regions of which they wrote, so abundant in pre- 
cious stones, diamonds, and gold, was the veritable 
land of Ophir itself. Their intense desire to obtain the 
treasures of India, led to a result most important in the 
world's history — a result little anticipated, but which was 
to have a never-ending influence upon the destinies of 
the human family — the discovery of America. 

As God had ordered, there appeared at this time a 
remarkable man ; a man whose perseverance, no less than 
liis genius, commands our respect. He was a native of 
Genoa, one of the great commercial cities of Italy. He 
had been from his childhood familiar with the sea, and 
had visited the most distant portions of the world then 
known. His time and talents were devoted to the study 
of navigation, geograjihy, and astronomy. He began to 
astonish his countrymen with strange notions about the 
world. ■ He boldly asserted that it was round, instead of 
flat ; that it went around the sun instead of the sun jroing 
around it ; and moreover, that day and night were caused 
by its revolution on its axis. These doctrines the priests 
denounced as contrary to those of the church. He could 
not convince these learned gentlemen by his arguments, 
neither could they silence him by their ridicule. When 
he ventured to assert that by sailing west, he could reach 
the East Indies, these philosophers questioned not only 
the soundness of his theory, but that of his intellect. For 
years he labored to obtain the means to explore the great 
western ocean, to prove that it was the pathway to the 
coveted trea.sures of the East. This remarkable man was 
Christopher Columbus. 

He applied first to John the Second, king of Portugal, 
to aid him in his enterprise, biit without success ; he then 
applied to Henry the Seventh, king of England, with a 
similar result. After years of delay and disappointment, 



COLUMBUS SAILS FROM PALOS. 3 

his project having been twice rejected by the Spanish chap. 

court, and he himself branded as a wild enthusiast, he sue- 

ceeded Lq enlisting in its favor the benevolent Isabella, 1492. 
Queen of Spain. She offered to pledge her private jewels 
to obtain means to defray the expenses of the expedition. 
Thus the blessings, which have accrued to the world from 
the discovery of America, may be traced to the beneficence 
of one of the noblest of women. 

A little more than three hundred and fifty years ago, 
on Friday, the 3d of August, 1492, Columbus sailed from 
the Kttle port of Palos, in Sixain. 

He confidently launched forth upon the unknown ocean. 
His three little vessels were mere saU-boats compared 
with the magnificent ships that now pass over the same 
waters. He sailed on and on, day after day, and at length 
came within the influence of the trade winds, which with- 
ovLt intermission urged his vessels toward the west. The 
sailors began to fear— if these winds continued, they never 
could return. They noticed the variation of the compass ; 
it no longer pointed to the pole, — was this mysterious, but 
hitherto trusty friend, about to fail them ? 

Ten weeks had already elapsed, and the winds were still 
bearing them farther and farther from their homes. It is 
true, there were many indications that land was near ; land 
birds were seen ; land weeds, a bush with fresh berries 
upon it, and a cane curiously carved, were found floating in 
the water. Again and again, from those on the watch, 
was heard the ciy of land, but as often the morning sun 
dispelled the illusion ; they had been deceived by the 
evening clouds that fringed the western horizon. Now, 
the sailors terror-stricken, became mutinous, and clamored 
to return. They thought they had sinned in venturing so 
far from land, and as a punishment were thus lured on to 
perish amid the dangers with which their imaginations had 
filled the waste of waters. 

Columbus alone was calm and hopeful ; in the midst 



4 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, of all these difficulties, he preserved the courage and noble 

. self-control that so dignifies his character. His confidence 

1492. in the success of Ms enterprise, was not the idle dream of 
a mere enthusiast ; it was founded in reason, it was based 
on science. His courage was the courage of one, who, in 
the earnest pursuit of truth, loses sight of every personal 
consideration. He asked only for a little more time, that 
he might prove to others the truth of what he himself so 
firmly believed. When lo ! the following night the land 
breeze, fragrant with the perfume of flowers, greeted them ; 
never was it more grateful to the worn and weary sailor. 
The ships were ordered to lie to, lest they should run upon 
rocks. Suddenly the ever watchful eye of Columbus saw 
a light, a moving light ! The alternations of hope and 
fear, the visions of fame and greatness, or the higher aspi- 
rations that may have filled his soul on that eventful night, 
are more easily imagined than described. 
Frid., The next morning, they saw lying before them in all 

-[2 ' its luxuriant beauty an island, called by the natives Guan- 
ahani, but renamed by Columbus, San Salvador, or Holy 
Saviour. 

With a portion of his crew he landed. Falling on 
their knees, they offered thanksgivings to God, who had 
crowned their labors with success. 

Columbus raised a banner, and planted a cross, and 
thus took formal possession of the land in the names of his 
sovereigns, Ferdinand and Isabella. The awe-stricken 
natives watched the ceremony fiom amid the groves ; they 
thought the white strangers were the children of the sun, 
their great deity. Alas ! the cross did not prove to them 
the emblem of peace and good-will ! 

Columbus explored this island— one of the Bahama 

group — and discovered others, now known as the West 

Indies. Thus he spent three months ; then taking with 

him seven of the natives, he sailed for home. On the 15th 

1403. of March he arrived at Palos. From that port to the court 



HIS THIRD VOYAGE. 5 

at Barcelona, his progress was a triumplial procession. He CEAP. 

was graciously received by the King and Queen, who 

appointed him Viceroy or Governor of all the countries he 1-193. 
had or should discover. They conferred upon him and his 
family titles of nobility, and permission to use a coat of 
arms. The day he made his discoveiy, was the day of Ms 
triumph ; this day was the recognition of it by his patrons 
and by the world. His past life had been one of unremit- 
ting toil and hope deferred ; but in the future were 
bright prospects for himself and his family. But liis 
title, the object of his honorable ambition, proved the 
occasion of all his after sorrows. The honors so justly 
conferred upon him, excited the jealousy of the Sjianish 
nobility. 

From this time his life was one continued contest with 
his enemies. He made more voyages, and more discoveries 
in the West Indies. On his third voyage he saw the main- 1498. 
land at the mouth of the Orinoco. It seems never to have 
occurred to him, that a river so large must necessarily 
drain a vast territory. He supposed the lands he had dis- 
covered were islands belonging to Cathay, or Farther 
India ; from this circumstance the natives of the New ] 

World were called Indians. It is more than probable ■ 

Columbus died without knowing that he had found a ; 

great continent. 

After a few years his enemies so far prevailed, that on 
a false accusation he was sent home in chains from the ; 

island of Hispaniola. Isabella, indignant at the treat- \ 

ment he had received, ordered them to be taken off, and , 

all his rights and honors restored. Ferdinand promised to ; 

aid her in rendering him justice, and in punishing his ene- 1 

mies ; but, double-dealing and ungenerous, he did neither. ■ 

To the misfortunes of Columbus was added the death of 
Isabella, his kind and generous patroness. And now he \ 

was openly maligned and persecuted. Their work was soon ' 

done ; in a short time he died, worn out by disease and 



6 HISTOKY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, disappointment. His last words were : " Into thy hands, 

Lord, I commend my spirit." 

1506. His body was deposited in a convent in Spain. Fer- 

dinand, it is said, ordered a monument to his memory. 
The justice he had denied him in life he was willing to 
inscribe upon his tomb, — it was to bear the inscription : 
" Columbus has given a world to CastUe and Leon." 

The body of Columbus was afterwards conveyed to 
Hispaniola. After a lapse of almost three hundred years 
that island passed into the hands of the'French. Gene- 
rations had come and gone, but the Sjjanish nation re- 
membered that Columbus had " given a world to Castile 
and Leon ; " and they wished to retain his remains within 
their own territories. They disinterred them, and with 
imposing ceremonies transferred them to Havana in the 

1795, island of Cuba, where they still remain. 

About seven years after the first voyage of Columbus, 
Amerigo Vespucci, a Florentine gentleman, visited the 
West Indies, and also landed on the eastern coast of South 
America. On liis return he puljlished a glowing descrip- 
tion of the newly discovered countries. From this cir- 
cumstance the name America was given to the New 
"World by a German writer on Geography, who may have 
been ignorant of the claims of Columbus. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE ABORIGINES. 

In the earliest ages of the world the ancient inhabit- ^^^^■ 

ants of America may have come from Asia. The prox- 

imity of the two continents in the vicinity of Behring's 
Straits and the Aleutian Isles, render such an emigration 
comparatively easy. There is reason to believe the i^eople 
found here by Europeans, were not the original inhabit- 
ants of the land. 

Throughout the continent, more especially in the val- 
ley of the Mississippi, are found monuments of a race 
'more ancient, — mounds and enclosures of great extent, — 
j;he work, not of roving savages, but of a people who lived 
in settled habitations, it may be, as prosperous and peace- 
ful cultivators of the soil. To build these immense 
monuments, the materials of which were frequently 
brought from a distance, required the labor and toU of a 
numerous population. Perhaps in the vicinity of these 
works, villages and cities once stood. The enclosures 
were used either as places of defence, or for purposes of 
worship, and perhaps for both ; the mounds evidently as 
places of burial for kings or chiefs. 

The antiquary finds here no inscriptions, which, like 
those found on the plains of Shinar or in the valley of the 
Nile, can unfold the mysteries of bygone centuries. He 
finds only the scattered remnants of vessels of earthen- 



O HISTOKT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, ware, rude weapons of warfare, axes made of stone, and 
ornaments worn only by a people rude and uncultivated. 

How mucli of happiness or of misery tliis ancient people 
experienced during those many ages, none can tell. In an 
evil hour came some dire calamity. It may have been 
civil war, wliich in its path spread desolation far and wide ; 
blotted out their imperfect civilization, and drove the more 
peaceful inhabitants further south, where they founded the 
empires of Mexico and Peru ; while those who remained 
degenerated into roving savages, and converted those fer- 
tile plains into hunting-grounds. Or may we not rather 
suppose that centuries after the first emigration, there came 
another from the same mother of nations, Asia ; — that the 
latter were warlike savages, who lived not by cultivating 
the soil but by hunting ; — that these invaders drove the 
peaceful inhabitants of that beautiful region to the far 
south, and took possession of the conquered land as their 
own home and hunting-ground ? 

Travellers have noticed the near resemblance of the 
aborigines of North America to the people of north- 
eastern Asia, not only in their customs but in their 
physical appearance. " The daring traveller Ledyard, as 
he stood in Siberia with men of the Mongolian race before 
him, and compared them with the Indians who had been 
his old play-feUows and school-mates at Dartmouth, writes 
deliberately that, 'universally and circumstantially they 
resemble the aborigines of America.' On the Connecticut 
and the Obi, he saw but one race." ' 

More than two thousand years ago, Herodotus wrote in 
his history, that the Scythians practised the custom of 
scalping their enemies slain in battle ; that the warrior 
preserved these scalps as the evidence of his bravery, and 
used them to decorate his tent and the trappings of his 
horse. The wonderful skill of these Scythians in han- 

" Bancroft's History of the United States, vol. III., page 318. 



INDIANS — FOUR DIVISIONS. 9 

dling the bow and arrow was proverbial in ancient times, chap. 

Wlio can tell but the ancestors of the aborigines of America 

came from Scythia, and brought with them their skill in 
using the bow and arrow, and the singular custom of 
scalping ? 

Of the North American Indians there were four general 
divisions ; thes» occupied as many separate portions of the 
United States and Canada. The Algonquin branch, with 
its various tribes, claimed the territory extending from the 
north of Maine to Cape Fear, thence to the Mississippi, and 
north of the great lakes to the vicinity of Hudson Bay ; 
their territory completely encircled that claimed by their 
enemies, the powerful Huron-Iroquois, whose central por- 
tion was along the north shores of the Lakes Erie and 
Ontario, beyond Georgian bay of Lake Huron, and almost 
to the Ottawa river, and south of the same lakes to the 
waters of the Ohio and the Susquehannah, and from the 
west end of Lake Erie to Lake Champlain and the Hud- 
son. The Mobilian branch extended from Cape Fear to 
the south point of Florida ; west along the north shores 
of the Gulf of Mexico to the Mississippi ; north as far as 
the Tennessee river and the southern spurs of the Cum- 
berland mountains. West of the Mississippi were the roving 
tribes of the Dahcotahs, or Sioiix. 

As the natives of these different portions of the conti- 
nent closely resembled each other in physical constitution 
and personal appearance, the first explorers supposed they 
were one and the same people ; but when their languages 
became better known, ethnologists classified them as dif- 
ferent branches of the same great family. In earlier ages 
they may have been one people, speaking the same lan- 
guage ; afterward, revengeful wars, unrelentingly waged 
for ages, separated them. Each little tribe or family wan- 
dered alone ; as differing circumstances and necessities re- 
quired, they added new words to the original language ; 
thus were formed dialects, which philologists have par- 



10 HISTOEY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, tially traced, and which apparently lead to the same mother 

tongue. 

Their mode of living, customs, and religious belief were 
also similar ; their houses, or wigwams, were formed of 
poles placed in the ground, and bent toward each other at 
the top, and covered with birch or chestnut bark ; they 
dressed in the skins of animals ; wore as ornaments the 
feathers of the eagle and the claws of the bear, — troiDhies 
of their skill as hunters, — and valued more than all the 
scalps of their enemies ; proofs of their bravery and success 
in war. 

They believed in a Great Spirit that pervaded aU 
things ; their heaven lay away beyond the mountains of 
the setting sun : it was a land of bright meadows and 
crystal springs, a happy hunting-ground stocked with wild 
animals, where the Indian hunter after death enjoyed 
the chase, and never suffered cold, nor thirst, nor hunger 
more. 

Note. — As the several tribes of Indians come within the scope of this 
history they will be further noticed. 



CHAPTEK III. 

SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 

South Sea. — First Voyage round the 'ft'orkl. — Ponce de Leon. — Florida, 
Discovery and Attempt to settle. — Vasquez de Ayllon. — Conquest of 
Mexico and Peru. 

In a few years the Spaniards subdued and colonized the ^^j^^' 

most important islands of the West Indies. The poor 

timid natives were either murdered or reduced to slavery. 1506. 
Unheard-of cruelties in a short time wasted, and almost 
exterminated the entire race. 

Not satisfied with the possession of these islands, the 
Spaniards made further discoveries from time to time 
around the Gulf of Mexico ; they explored the southern 
part of the peninsula of Yucatan ; they planted a colony 
on the narrow Isthmus of Darien. Until this time, no 1510. 
settlement had been made on the Western Continent. 

When in search of gold, Nunez de Balboa, the govern- 
or of this colony, made an exploring tour into the interior, 
he ascended a high mountain, and from its top his eyes 
were greeted with the sight of a vast expanse of water 
extending away to the south, as far as the eye could reach. 
He called it the South Sea. But seven years later, Magel- 1520. 
Ian, a Portuguese mariner in the service of Spain, passed 
through the dangerous and stormy Straits which bear his 
name ; and sailing out into the great field of waters, found 
it so calm, so free from storms, that he called it the Pacific 
or peaceful ocean. Magellan died on the voyage, but his 
ship reached the coast of Asia, and thence returned home 



12 HISTOET OF THE UNITED STATES. 

<^HAP. to Spain by the Cape of Good Hope, thus realizing the 

vision of Columbus, that the world was a globe, and could 

1512. be sailed round. 

Juan Ponce de Leon, a former governor of Porto Kico, fit- 
ted out at his own expense three ships to make a voyage 
of discovery. He had heard from the natives of Porto Kico 
that somewhere in the Bahama Islands, was a fountain 
that would restore to the vigor of youth, all those who 
should drink of its waters or bathe in its stream. This 
absurd story many of the Spaniards believed, and none 
more firmly than De Leon. He was an old man, and 
anxious to renew his youthful pleasures ; with eager hopes 
he hastened in search of the marvellous fountain. 

He did not find it, but in coasting along to the west of 
the islands, he came in sight of an imknown country. It 
appeared to bloom with flowers, and to be covered with 
magnificent forests. As this country was first seen on 
Easter Sunday, which the Spaniards call Pascua Florida, 
he named it Florida. AA^ith great difficulty he landed to 
the north of where St. Augustine now stands, and took 
formal possession of the country in the name of the Spanish 
sovereign. He sailed to the south along the unknown and 
dangerous coast, around the extreme point. Cape Florida, 
and to the south-west among the Tortugas islands. He 
received for his services the honor of being appointed Gov- 
ernor of Florida by the King of Spain, — rather an expen- 
sive honor, being based on the condition that he should 
colonize the country. 

A year or two afterward, he attempted to plant a 
colony, but found the natives exceedingly hostUe. They 
attacked him and his men with great fury — many were 
killed, the rest were forced to flee to their ships, and Ponce 
de Leon himself was mortally wounded. He had been a 
soldier of Spain ; a companion of Columbus on his second 
voyage ; had been governor of Porto Eico, where he had 
oppressed the natives with great cruelty ; he had sought 



VASQUEZ DE AYLLON. 13 

an exemption from the ills of old age ; had attempted to chap. 

found a colony and gain the immortality of fame. But he 

returned to Cuba to die, without planting his colony or 1512. 
drinking of the fountain of youth. 

About this time was made the first attempt to obtain 
Indians from the Continent as slaves to work in the mines 
and on the i)lantations of Hispaniola or St. Domingo. The 
ignominy of this attempt belongs to a company of seven 
men, the most distinguished of whom was Lucas Vasquez 
de Ayllon. They went first to the Bahama Islands, from 
these they passed to the coast of the present State of South 
Carolina, landing at or near St. Helena Sound. 

The natives of this region knew not as yet what they 
had to fear from Europeans. They were, however, shy at 
first, but after presents had been distributed among them, 
they received the strangers kindly. They were invited to 
visit the ships. Curiosity overcame their timidity, and 
they went on board in crowds. The treacherous Spaniards 
immediately set sail for St. Domingo, regardless of the 
sorrows they inflicted upon the victims of their cruelty and 
avarice. Thus far their plot was successful ; soon how- 1520. 
ever a storm arose, and one of the ships went down with 
all on board ; sickness and death carried off many of the 
captives on the other vessel. Such outrages upon the na- 
tives were common ; and instead of being condemned and 
punished, they were commended. Vasquez went to Spain, 
boasting of his expedition as if it had been praiseworthy. 
As a reward, he received from the Spanish monarch a 
commission to conquer the country. 

When he had expended his fortune in preparatic^ns, he 
set sail, and landed upon the coast. Bitter wrongs had 
been inflicted upon the natives, and their spirit was roused. 
They attacked him with great vigor, killed nearly all 
his men, and forced him to give up the enterprise. It is 
said that grief and disappointment hastened the death of 
Yasquez. 



14 EISTOEY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. The Spaniards were more successful elsewhere. The 
explorers of the west coast of the Gulf had heard of the 

1520. famed empire of Mexico and its golden riches. As evi- 
dence of the truth of these marvellous stories, they exhib- 
ited the costly presents given them by the unsuspecting 
natives. Under the lead of Fernando Cortez, six hun- 
dred and seventeen adventurers invaded the empire ; and 
though they met with the most determined resistance, in 
the end Spanish arms and skUl 2>revailed. Defeated at 
every point, and disheartened at the death of their em- 

1521. peror, Montezuma, the Mexicans submitted, and their em- 
1821. pire became a province of Spain. Just three hundred 

years from that time, the province threw off the Spanish 
yoke, and became a rej^ublic. 

Kumor told also of the splendor and wealth of a great 
empire lying to the south, known as Peru. Pizarro, 
another daring adventurer, set out from Panama with only 
one hundred foot soldiers and sixty-seven horsemen to in- 
vade and conquer it. After enduring toU and labors 
almost unparalleled, he succeeded ; and that empire, con- 
taining millions of inhabitants, wealthy, and quite civilized, 
1531. ^^^ reduced to a province. Pizarro founded Lima, which 
became his capital. He oppressed the natives with great 
cruelty, and accumulated unbounded wealth drawn from 
mines of the precious metals, but after a rule of nine years 
he fell a victim to a conspiracy. 



CHAPTER IV. 

ENGLISH AND FRENCH DISCOVERIES. 

John Cabot discoTers the American Continent. — Enterprise of his son Se- 
bastian. — Voyages of Verrazzani and Cartier. — Attempts at Settlement. 

Whilst these discoveries, conquests, and settlements chap. 

were in progress in the South, a series of discoveries was 

going on in the North. Ii97. 

John Cabot, a native of Venice, residing, as a merchant, 
in Bristol, in the West of England, made ajiplication to 
Henry VII., the reigning sovereign, for permission to go 
en a voyage of discovery. The king gave to Cabot and 
his three sons a patent, or commission, granting them cer- 
tain privileges. This is said to be the most ancient state 
paper of England relating to America. 

As Henry VII. was proverbially prudent in money 
matters, he would not aid the Cabots by sharing with 
them the expense of the expedition, but he was careful to 
bind them to land, on their return, at the port of Bristol, 
and pay him one-fifth pa^t of the profits of their trade. 
They were, in the name of the king, to take possession of 
all the territories they shoidd discover, and to have the ex- 
clusive privilege of trading to them. 

Bristol, at this time, was the greatest commercial town 
in the West of England, and had trained up multitudes 
of hardy seamen. These seamen had become habituated 
to the storms of the ocean, by battling tempests in the 
Northern seas around Iceland, in their yearly fishing ex- 
cursions. It is quite probable they had there heard the 



16 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, tradition, that at a remote period the Icelanders had dis- 

covered a country to the west of their island. 

1497. Cabot and his son Sebastian sailed almost due west, 

and before long discovered the American continent, it is 
supposed near the fifty-sixth degree of north latitude. 
What must have been their surprise to find, in the lati- 
tude of England, a land dreary with snow and ice, barren 
rocks, frowning cUfis, polar bears, and wild savages ! This 
discovery was made more than a year before Colimibus, on 
his third voyage, saw the South American coast, at the 
mouth of the Orinoco. 

Thus the Western continent was discovered by pri- 
vate enterprise alone. The next year a voyage was under- 
taken for the purposes of trade, and also to ascertain 
if the countiy was suitable for making settlements. The 
king now ventured to become a partner in the speculation, 
and defrayed some of the expense. Sebastian Cabot sailed, 
with a com^jany of three hundred men, for Labrador, and 
landed still further north than at his first voyage. The 
severity of the cold, though it was the commencement of 
summer, and the barrenness of the country, deterred him 
from remaining any length of time. He sailed to the 
South and explored the coast, till want of provisions forced 
him to return home. The family of the Cabots derived 
no benefit from their discovery, as the trade to those barren 
regions amounted to nothing. 

It is a matter of regret that so httle is known of the 
many voyages of Sebastian Cabot. Around his name there 
lingers a pleasing interest. He is represented as being 
veiy youthful, not more than twenty years of age, when 
he went on his first voyage. Mild and courteous in 
his manners ; determined in purpose, and persevering 
in execution ; with a mind of extraordinary activity ; 
daring in his enteqirises, but never rash or imprudent ; 
he won the hearts of his sailors by his kindness, and 
commanded their respect by his skill. Such was the 



VOYAGE OF VEKRAZZANI. 17 

man who, for more than fifty years, was the foremost in chap. 

maritime adventure. He explored the eastern coast of 

South America ; sailed within twenty degrees of the North 1497. 
Pole, in search of the North-Western passage ; and at dif- 
ferent times explored the eastern coast of this continent, 
from Hudson's straits to Albemarle sound. 

The Cahots had noticed the immense shoals of fish 1524. 
which frequented the waters around Newfoundland. The 
Enghsh prosecuted these fisheries, but to no great extent, 
as they continued to visit the Icelandic seas. French fish- 
ermen, however, availed themselves of the way opened by 
their rivals, and prosecuted them with great vigor. Plans 
for planting colonies in those regions were often proposed 
in France, yet nothing was done beyond the yearly visits 
of the fii^hermen. Francis I. was finally induced to attempt 
further explorations. For this purpose he employed Ver- 
razzani, a native of Florence, in Italy, a navigator of some 
celebrity, to take charge of an expedition. This was the 
fijst voyage, for the purpose of discovery, undertaken at 
the expense of the French government. 

Verrazzani sailed south to the Madeira Isles, and thence 
due west, in quest of new countries. On the passage he 
battled a terrible tempest, but at length saw land in the 
latitude of Wilmington, North Carolina. No good har- 
bor could be found as he coasted along to the south for 
one hundred and fifty mUes. Then turning north, he cast 
anchor from time to time and explored the coast. The 
surprise of the natives and that of the voyagers was mu- 
tual ; the one wondered at the white strangers, their ships 
and equipments ; the other at the " russet color" of the 
simple natives ; their dress of skins set off with vaiious rude 
ornaments and gaudy-colored feathers. The imagination 
of the voyagers had much to do with the report they made 
of their discoveries. The groves, they said, bloomed with 
flowers, whose fragrance greeted them far from the shore, 
2 



18 , HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, reminding them of the spices of the East ; the reddish 

color of the earth was, no doubt, caused by gold. 

1524. The explorers examined carefliUy the spacious harbors 

of New York and Newport ; in the latter they remained 
fifteen days. They noticed the fine personal appearance 
of the natives, who were hospitable, but could not be in- 
duced to trade, and appeared to be ignorant of the use of 
iron. They continued their voyage along the then name- 
less shores of New England to Nova Scotia, and stiU fur- 
ther north. There the natives were hostile ; they had 
learned, by sad experience, the craelty and treachery of 
white men. Gaspar Cortereal, a Portuguese, some years 
before, had visited their coast, stolen some of their friends, 
and sold them into slavery. They were willing to trade 
for instruments of iron or steel, but were very cautious, 
fearful of being again entrapped. 

After his return, Verrazzani published a narrative of 
his voyage, giving much more information of the country 
than had hitherto been known. On the ground of his dis- 
coveries, France laid claim to the territory extending fi:om 
South Carolina to Newfoundland. 

1534. Ten years after, an expedition was sent, under James 

Oartier, a mariner of St. Malo, to make further discoveries, 
with the ultimate design of founding a colony. His voyage 
was very successful ; he reached Newfoundland in twenty 
days ; passed through the Straits of Belleisle ; sailed to the 
south-west across a gulf and entered a bay ; which, from 
the extreme heat of the weather, he named Des Chaleurs. 
Coasting along still further west, he landed at the inlet 
called Gaspe, where he took formal possession of the coun- 
try, in the name of his sovereign. This he did by plant- 
ing a cross, surmounted by the lilies of France, and bear- 
ing a suitable inscription. Continuing his course still 
further west, he entered the mouth of a great estuary, into 
which he ascertained flowed an immense river, larger by 
far than any river in Europe. These exjjlorations were 



VOYAGE OF CARTIEK. 19 

made during the inorttlis of July and August. It was now chap. 
necessary for him to return home. 

His account of the climate as "hotter than that of 1534. 
Spain," and of the country as " the fairest that can pos- 
sibly he found ;" of its " sweet-smelling trees ;" of its 
" strawberries, blackberries, prunes and wild corn ;" its 
" figs, apples and other fruits," together with his descrip- 
tion of the great gulf and noble river, excited in France 
the most intense interest. 

Immediately plans were devised to colonize the coun- 
try. The court entered into the scheme. Some of the 
young nobilit)'' volunteered to become colonists. By the 
following May the arrangements were completed. Cartier, 
" who was very religious," first conducted his company to 
the cathedral, where they received the bishop's blessing, 
then set sail, with high hopes of formding a State in what 
was then called New France. 

After a somewhat stormy passage, he reached the 
northern jiart of the gulf, on the day of St. Lawrence the 1535. 
Martyr, in honor of whom it was named — in time, the 
name was applied to river also. 

The strangers were received hospitably by the natives. 
Cartier ascended the river in a boat to an island, on which 
was the principal Indian settlement. It was in the mild 
and jjleasant month of September. He ascended a hill, at 
the foot of which lay the Indian village; he was enraj^tur- 
ed by the magnificent scene ; the river before him evidently 
drained a vast territory ; the natives told him " that it 
went so far to the west, that they had never heard of any 
man who had gone to the head of it." He named the hill 
Mont-Keal, Eoyal-Mount ; a name since transferred to the 
island, and to the city. 

This country was in the same latitude with France ; he 
thought its climate must be equally mild, its soil equally 
fertile ; and that it might become the home of a happy and 
industrious people, and this beautiful island the centre of 



20 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, an almost unbounded commerce. He did not know that 

!_ God liad sent the warm waters of the south through the 

1535. Gulf Stream to the west of Europe ; that they warmed 
the bleak west winds, and made the delightful climate of 
his native France different from that in the same latitude 
in North America.' 

A vigorous winter dissipated his visions. His honest 
narrative of the voyage, and of the intense coldness of the 
cHmate, deterred his countrymen from making further 
attempts to colonize the country. There was no gold nor 
silver to be found — no mines of precious stones. What 
inducement was there for them to leave their fertile and 
beautiful France, with its mild and healthful cHmate, to 
shiver on the banks of the St. Lawrence ? 
1540. Thus it remained for four years. Among many who 

thought it unworthy a great nation not to found a State 
on the shores of the magnificent gulf and river of the New 
World, was a nobleman of Picardy, Francis de la Roque, 
lord of Eoberval. He obtained a commission from Fran- 
cis I. to plant a colony, with full legal authority as viceroy 
over the territories and regions on or near the Gulf and 
Eiver of St. Lawrence. These were to be known in his- 
tory under the ambitious name of Norimbega. 

Cartier was induced by Eoberval to receive a commission 
as chief pUot of the expedition. They did not act in con- 
cert; both were tenacious of honor and authority, and they 
were jealous of each other. 
1540. Cartier sailed the following spring, passed up the river, 

and built a fort near where Quebec now stands. To estab- 
lish a prosperous colony, virtue, industry, and perseverance 
must be found in the colonists. The first enterprise, com- 

' "The quantity of heat discharged over the Atlantic from the waters 
of the Gulf Stream in a winter's day, would be suflScient to raise the whole 
column of atmosphere that rests upon France and the British Isles, from the 
freezing point to summer heat." 

Maury's Physical Geography of the Sea, p. 51. 



ATTEMPTS AT SETTLEMENT. 21 

posed of young noblemen and amateur colonists, failed, as chap. 

might have been expected. In the second attempt they '_ 

went to the other extreme, — the colonists were criminals, 1542. 
drawn from the prisons of France. 

During the winter Oartier hung one of them for theft ; 
put some in irons ; and whipped others, men and women, 
for minor faults. In the spring, just as Roberval himself 
arrived with a reinforcement, he slipped off to France, 
heartily disgusted with his winter's occupation. Roberval 
remained about a year, and then returned home, perfectly 
willing to resign the viceroyalty of Norimbega, and retire 
to his estates in Picardy. After a lapse of fifty years, a 
successful attempt was made by the French to colonize the 
same territorv. 



CHAPTER V. 

DE SOTO AND THE MISSISSIPPI. 

CHAP. The name Florida was given by the Spaniards to the 
" entii-e southern portion of the United States. Their at- 

1539. tempts to conquer this territory had hitherto failed. For 
some unexplained reason, the most exaggerated stories 
were told of the richness of the country ; there was no evi- 
dence of their truth, yet they were implicitly believed. 

The success of Cortez in conquering Mexico, and of 
Pizarro in conquering Peru, excited the emulation of 
Ferdinand de Soto. He had been a companion of Pizarro ; 
had gained honor by his valor, and, in accordance with the 
morals of the times, had accumulated an immense amount 
of wealth by various means of extortion. Still it must be 
said in his favor, that he was, by for, the most humane of 
any of the Spanish officers who pUlaged Mexico and 
Peru. Foreseeing the endless quarrels and jealousies of 
the Spaniards in Peru, he pradently retired to Spain with 
his ill-gotten gains. 

Ambition did not permit him to remain long in retire- 
ment. He panted for a name, for military glory, to sur- 
pass the two conquerors of the New World. He asked 
permission to conquer Florida, at his own expense. The 
request was graciously granted by the Emperor, Charles V. 
He also received an honor much more grateful to his am- 
bition ; he was appointed Governor of Cuba, and of all the 
countries he should conquer. 



THE LANDING AT TAMPA BAY. 23 

The announcement that he was about to embark on chap. 

this enterprise, excited in Spain the highest hopes, — hopes 

of military glory and of unbounded wealth. Enthusiastic 1539. 
men said these hopes must be realized ; there were cities 
in the interior of Florida as rich, if not richer than those 
of Mexico or Peru ; temples equally splendid, to be plun- 
dered of their golden ornaments. Volunteers offered in 
crowds, many of noble birth, and all proud to be led by so 
renowned a chief. From these numerous applicants De 
Soto chose six hundred men, in " the bloom of life." The 
enthusiasm was so great, that it appeared more like a 
holiday excursion than a military expedition. 

He sailed for Cuba, where he was received with great 
distinction. Leaving his wife to govern the island, he 
sailed for Florida, and landed at Spiritu Santo, now Tampa 
bay. He never harbored the thought that his enterprise 
could fail. He sent his ships back to Cuba ; thus, in imi- 
tation of Cortez, he deprived his followers of the means to 
return. Volunteers in Cuba had increased his army to 
nearly one thousand men, of whom three hundred were 
horsemen, all well armed. Every thing was provided that 
De Soto's foresight and experience could suggest ; amjile 
stores of provisions, and for future supplies, a drove of 
swine, for which Indian corn and the fruits of the forest 
would furnish an abundance of food. The company was 
provided with cards, that they might spend their "leisure 
time in gaming ;" a dozen of priests, that the " festivals of 
the church might be kept," and her ceremonies rigidly per- 
formed ; chains for the captive Indians, and bloodhounds, 
to track and tear them in pieces, should they attempt to 
escape ; — incongruities of which the adventurers seemed 
unconscious. 

They now commenced their march through pathless 
forests. The Indian guides, who had been kidnapped on 
former invasions, soon learned that they were in search of 
gold. Anxious to lead them as far as possible from the 



24 HISTOEY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, neighborhood of their own tribes, they humored their fan- 
cies, and told them of regions far away, where the precious 



1540. metal was abundant. In one instance they pointed to the 
north-east, where they said the people understood the art 
of refining it, and sent them away over the rivers and 
plains of Georgia. It is jiossible they may have referred 
to the gold region of North Carolina. 

When one of the guides honestly confessed that he 
knew of no such country, De Soto ordered him to be burned 
for telling an untruth. From this time onward tho 
guides continued to allure the Spaniards on in search of 
a golden region, — a region they were ever approaching, but 
never reached. 

At length the men grew weaiy of wandering through 
forests and swamps ; they looked for cities, rich and 
splendid, they found only Indian towns, small and poor, 
whose finest buildings were wigwams. They wished to 
return ; but De Soto was determined to proceed, and his 
faithful followers submitted. They pillaged the Indians 
of their provisions, thus rendered them hostile, and many 
conflicts ensued. They treated their captives with great 
barbarity ; wantonly cut off their hands, burned them at 
the stake, suffered them to be torn in pieces by the blood- 
hounds, or chained them together with iron collars, and 
compelled them to carry their baggage. 

They moved toward the south-west, and came into the 
neighborhood of a large walled town, named Mavilla, since 
Mobile. It was a rude town, but it afforded a better shel- 
ter than the forests and the open plains, and they wished 
to occupy it. The Indians resisted, and a fierce battle 
ensued. The Spanish cavalry gained a victory, — a victory 
dearly bought ; the town was burned, and with it nearly 
all their baggage. 

Meantime, according to appointment, ships from Cuba 
had arrived at Pensacola. De Soto would not confess that 
he had thus for failed ; he would send no news until he 



DISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 25 

had rivalled Cortez in military renown. They now directed CH^P. 

their course to the north-west, and spent the following win- L. 

ter in the northern part of the State of Mississippi. From 1540. 
the Indian corn in the fields they obtained food, and made 
their winter quarters in a deserted town. When spring 
returned, a demand was made of the Chickasaw chief to 
furnish men to carry their baggage. The indignant chief 
refused. The hostile Indians deceived the sentinels, and 
in the night set fire to the village and attacked the Span- 
iards, but after a severe contest they were repulsed. It 
was another dear victory to the invaders ; the little 
they had saved from the flames at Mobile was now con- 
sumed. This company, once so " brilliant in silks and 
glittering armor," were now scantily clothed in skins, and 
mats made of ivy. 

Again they commenced their weary wanderings, and 
before many days found themselves on the banks of the 
Mississippi. De Soto expressed no feelings of pleasure or 
of admiration at the discovery of the magnificent river, 
with its ever-flowing stream of turbid waters. Ambition 
and avarice consume the finer feelings of the soul ; they 
destroy the appreciation of what is noble in man and 
beautiful in nature. De Soto was only anxious to cross 
the river, and press on in search of cities and of gold. A 1541. 
month elapsed before boats could be bmlt to transport the 
horses. At length they were ready, and white men, for 
the first time, launched forth upon the Father of Waters. 

The natives on the west bank received the strangers 
kindly, and gave them presents. The Indians of southern 
Missouri supposed them to be superior beings — children of 
the sun — and they brought them their blind to be restored 
to sight. De Soto answered them, " The Lord made the 
heavens and the earth : pray to Him only for whatsoever 
ye need." Here they remained forty days ; sent out ex- 
plorers further north, who reported that buffaloes were so 
numerous in that region that corn could not be raised ; 



26 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, that the inhabitants were few, and lived by hunting. 

. They wandered two hundred miles further west ; then 

154:1. turned to the south, and went nearly as far, among In- 
dians who were an agricultural people, living in villages, 
and subsisting upon the produce of the soil. 

In this region another winter was passed. It was now 
almost three years since De Soto had landed at Tampa 
bay. With all his toil and suffering, he had accomi^lished 
1542. nothing. In the spring, he descended the Wachita to 
the Ked river, and thence once move to the Mississippi. 
There he learned that the country, extending to the sea, 
was a waste of swamps, where no man dwelt. 

His cup of disappointment was full ; his pride, which 
had hitherto sustained him, must confess that his enter- 
prise had been a failure. He had set out with higher 
hopes than any Spanish conqueror of the New World ; 
now his faithful band was wasted by disease and death. 
He was far from aid ; a deep gloom settled upon his spirit ; 
his soul was agitated by a conflict of emotions ; a violent 
fever was induced ; and when sinking rapidly, he called 
his followers around him, they, faithful to the last, im- 
plored him to appoint a successor ; he did so. The nest 
day De Soto was no more. His soldiers mourned for him ; 
the priests performed his funeral rites ; with sad hearts 
they wrapped his body in a mantle, and, at the silent hour 
of midnight, sunk it beneath the waters of the Mississippi. 

His followers again wandered for awhile, in hopes of 
getting to Mexico. Finally they halted upon the banks of 
the Mississippi ; erected a forge ; struck the fetters off 
their Indian captives, and made the iron into nails to build 
boats ; killed their horses and swine, and dried their flesh 
for pro\asions. When the boats were finished they 
launched them upon the river, and floated down its 
stream to the Gulf of Mexico. 
1C72. After the lapse of one hundred and thirty years, the Mis- 

sissippi was again visited by white men of another nation. 



CHAPTEE VI. 

THE REFORMATION AND ITS EFFECTS. 

From this period we find interwoven with the early his- chap. 
tory of our country a class of persons who were not mere ^'" 
adventurers, seekers after gold or fame — hut who sought ^g^.^- 
here a home, where they might enjoy civil and religious 
liberty, and who held the principles of which we see the 
result in the institutions of the United States, so different 
in some respects from those of any other nation. This differ- 
ence did not spring from chance, but was the legitimate ef- 
fect of certain influences. What has made this younger 
member of the great family of governments to differ so much 
from the others ? What were the principles, what the in- 
fluences, which produced such men and women as our 
revolutionary ancestors ? The world has never seen their 
equals for self-denying patriotism ; for enlightened views 
of government, of religious liberty, and of the rights of con- 
science. 

When great changes are to be introduced among the 
nations of the earth, God orders the means to accomplish 
them, as well as the end to be attained. He trains the 
people for the change. He not only prepared the way for 
the discovery of this continent, but for its colonization by 
a Christian people. Fifty years before the first voyage of 
Columbus, the art of printing was invented — and twenty- 
five years after the same voyage, commenced the Reforma- 
tion in Germany under Martin Luther. The art of print- 
ing, by multiplying books, became the means of diffusing 



28 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, knowledge among men, and of awakening the human mind 
from the sleep of ages. One of the consequences of this 



1517. awakening, was the Reformation. The simple trutlis of 
the Gospel had been obscured by the teachings of men. 
The decrees of the church had drawn a veil between the 
throne of God and the human soul. The priesthood had 
denied to the people the right of studying for themselves 
the word of God. The views of the Reformers were the 
reverse of this. They believed that God, as Lord of the 
conscience, had given a revelation of his will to man, and 
that it was the inherent right and privilege of every human 
being to study that will, each one for himself They did 
not stoj) here : they were diligent seekers for truth ; the 
advocates of education and of free inquiry. Throwing 
aside the traditions of men, they went directly to the 
Bible, and taught all men to do the same. 

On the continent, the Reformation began among the 
learned men of the universities, and gradually extended to 
the uneducated people. In England, the common people 
were reading the Bible in their own language, long before 
it was the privilege of any nation on the continent.* Thus 
the English were prepared to enter into the spirit of the 
Reformation under Luther. Soon persecutions of the Re- 
formers arose ; with civil commotions and oppressions 
involving all Europe in war. These troubles drove the 
Huguenot from France and the Puritan from England, to 
seek homes in the wilderness of the New World. 

From the Bible they learned their high and holy prin- 
ciples ; fiery trials taught them endurance. They brought 
with them to our shores the spirit of the Reformation, the 
recognition of civU rights and religious liberty. These 
principles have been transmitted to us in our national 
institutions and form of government. 

* D'Aubign6's Hist, of the Keformation, Vol. Y. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE HUGUENOTS IN THE SOUTH. 

Their settlement destroyed. — The Colony of St. Augustine. — De Gourges. 
Settlements in New France. — Champlain and his Success. 

While these contests were going on in Europe between chap 

the friends of religious liberty and the Eoman Catholics, 

Coligny, the high-admiral of France, a devoted Protestant, 1562. 
conceived the idea of founding a colony in the New World, 
to which his persecuted countrymen might flee, and enjoy 
that which was denied them in their native land ; the 
inestimable privilege of worshipping God according to the 
dictates of their own conscience, enlightened by his holy 
word. 

The French government took no interest in the matter. 
Those influences were then at work, which a few years 1573. 
later produced their dire efiect in the massacre of St. Bar- 
tholomew. Coligny, however, easily obtained a commission 
from Charles IX. Preparations were soon made, and the 
expedition sailed under the direction of John Ribault, a 
worthy man, and a sincere Protestant. 

They knew the character of the country and of the 
climate in the latitude of the St. Lawrence, and they wish- 
ed to find a region more fertile and a chmate more genial. 
They made land in the vicinity of St. Augustine, Florida; 
then continued further north along the coast, and landed 
at Port Royal entrance. They were delighted with the May. 
countiy, its fine climate, its magnificent forests, fragrant 



30 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, witli mid flowers ; but above all with the capacious har- 

bor, whicb was capable of floating the largest ships. Here 

1562. it was determined to make a settlement : a fort was built 
on an island in the harbor, and in honor of their sovereign 
called Carolina. Leaving twenty-five men to keep pos- 
session of the country, Eibault departed for France, with 
the intention of returning the next year with supplies and 
more emigrants. He found France in confusion ; civil 
war was raging with all its attendant horrors. In vain the 
colonists looked for reinforcements and supplies — none 
ever came. Disheartened, they resolved to return home ; 
they hastily built a brigantine, and with an insufficiency of 
provisions, set sail. They came near perishing at sea by 
famine, but were ^providentially rescued by an English bark. 
Part of these colonists were taken to France, and part to 
England, — there they told of the fine climate and the rich 
soil of the country they had attempted to colonize. We 
shall yet see the efl"ect of this information in directing 
English enterprise. 

Two years after, there was a treacherous luU in the 
storm of civil discord in France ; Coligny again attempted 
to found a colony. The care of this expedition was intrust- 
ed to Laudonit^re, a man of uprightness and intelligence, 
who had been on the former voyage. The healthfidncss of 
the climate of Florida was represented to be wonderful : 
it was believed, that under its genial influence, human life 
was extended more than one-half, while the stories of the 
wealth of the interior stiU found credence. Unfortunately 
jjroper care was not exercised in selecting the colonists 
from the numerous volunteers who oflered. Some were 
chosen who were not worthy to be members of a colony 
based on religious principles, and founded for noble pur- 
poses. 

They reached the coast of Florida, avoided Port Eoyal, 

15C4. the scene of former misery, and found a suitable location 

for a settlement on the banks of the river May, now called 



FORT CAROLINA. 31 

tlie St. Johns. They offered songs of thanksgiving to God chap. 

for his guiding care, and trusted to his promises for the 

future. They built another fort, which like the first they 1564. 
called CaroHna. The true character of some of the colo- June, 
nists soon began to appear, — these had joined the enter- 
prise with no higher motive than gain. They were muti- 
nous, idle, and dissolute, wasting the provisions of the com- 
pany. They robbed the Indians, who became hostile, and 
refused to furnish the colony with provisions. 

Under the pretext of avoiding famine, these fellows of 
the baser sort asked permission of Laudoniere to go to New 
Spain. He granted it, tliinking it a happy riddance for 
himself and the colony. They embarked, only to become 
pirates. The Spaniards, whom they attacked, took their 
vessel and made most of them slaves ; the remainder es- 
caj)ed in a boat. They knew of no safer place than Fort 
Carolina. When they returned Laudoniere had them 
arrested for piracy ; they were tried, and the ringleaders 
condemned and executed ; — a sufficient evidence that 
their conduct was detested by the better portion of the 
colonists. 

Famine now came pressing on. Month after month 
passed away, and still there came no tidings — no supplies 
from home. Just at this time arrived Sir John Hawkins 
from the West Indies, where he had disposed of a cargo of 
negroes as slaves. He was the first Englishman, it is 
said, who had engaged in that unrighteous traffic. Though 
hard-hearted toward the wretched Africans, he manifested 
much sympathy for the famisliing colonists ; supplied them 
with provisions, and gave them one of his shijjs. They 
continued their preparations to leave for home, when sud- 
denly the cry was raised that ships were coming into the Au^c. 
harbor. It was Ribaidt returning with supplies and fami- 
lies of emigrants. He was provided with domestic ani- 
mals, seeds and implements for cultivating the soil. The 
scene was now changed ; aU were willing to remain, and 



32 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

^Tn^' *^^ ^"I*^ °^ founding a French Protestant State in the 

New World was revived. 

156-i. Philip II., the cniel and bigoted King of Spain, heard 

that the French — French Protestants — had presumed to 
make a settlement in Florida ! Immediately plans were laid 
to exterminate the heretics. The king found a fit instru- 
ment for the purpose in Pedro Melendez ; a man familiar 
with scenes of carnage and cruelty, whose life was stained 
with almost every crime. The king knew his desperate 
character ; gave him permission to conquer Florida at his 
own expense, and appointed him its governor for life, with 
the right to name his successor. His colony was to consist 
of not less than five hundred persons, one himdred of whom 
should he married men. He was also to introduce the 
sugar-cane, and five hundred negro slaves to cultivate it. 
The expedition was soon under way. Melendez first saw the 
land on the day consecrated to St. Augustine ; some days 
after, sailing along the coast, he discovered a fine harbor 
and river, to which he gave the name of that saint. From 
the Indians he learned where the Huguenots had estab- 
lished themselves. They were much surjarised at the ap- 
pearance of a fleet, and they inquired of the stranger who 
he was and why he came ; he rejilied, " I am Melendez, of 
Sept. Spain, sent by my sovereign with strict orders to behead 
and gibbet every Protestant in these regions ; the Cathohc 
shall be spared, but every Protestant shall die !" The 
French fleet, unprepared for a conflict, put to sea ; the 
Spaniards pursued but did not overtake it. Melendez then 
returned to St. Augustine. After a religious festival in 
honor of the Virgin Mary, he proceeded to mark out the 
boundaries for a town. St. Augustine is, by more than 
forty years, the oldest town in the United States. 

His determination was now to attack the Huguenots 
by land, and carry out his cruel orders. The French sup- 
posing the Spaniards would come by sea, set sail to meet 
them. Melendez found the colonists unprepared and de- 



THE MASSACRE. 33 

fenceless ; their men were nearly all on board the fleet. A chap. 
short contest ensued : the French were overcome, and the '_ 



fanatic Spaniards massacred nearly the whole number, — 1564. 
men, women, and children ; they spared not even the aged 
and the sick. A few were reserved as slaves, and a few 
escaped to the woods. To show to the world upon what 
principles he acted, Melendez placed over the dead this 
inscription : — " I do not this as unto Frenchmen, but as 
unto heretics." Mass was celebrated, and on the ground 
still reeking with the blood of the innocent victims of re- 
ligious bigotry and fanaticism, he erected a cross and 
marked out a site for a church — the first on the soU of 
the United States. 

Among those who escaped, were Laudoniere and Le 
Moyne, an artist, sent by Coligny to make drawings of the 
most interesting scenery of the country ; and Challus, who 
afterward wrote an account of the calamity. "When they 
seemed about to perish in the forests from hunger, they 
questioned whether they should appeal to the mercy of 
their conquerors. " No," said Challus, " let us trust in 
the mercy of God rather than of these men." After en- 
during many hardships, they succeeded in reaching two 
small French vessels which had remained in the harbor, 
and thus escaped to France. A few of their companions, 
who threw themselves upon the mercy of the Spaniards, 
were instantly murdered. 

While these scenes of carnage were in progress, a ter- 
rible storm wrecked the French fleet ; some of the soldiers 
and sailors were enabled to reach the shore, but in a des- 
titute condition. These poor men when invited, surren- 
dered themselves to the promised clemency of Melendez. 
They were taken across the river in little companies ; as 
they landed their hands were tied behind them, and they 
driven to a convenient place, where at a given signal they 
were all murdered. Altogether nine hundred persons 
perished by shipwreck and violence. It is the office of 
3 



34 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, history to record the deeds of the past — the evil and the 

good ; let the one be condemned and avoided, the other 

1564. commended and imitated. May we not hope that the day 
of fanatic zeal and religious persecution has passed away 
forever .? 

The French government was indifferent, and did not 
avenge the wrongs of her loyal and good subjects ; but the 
Huguenots, and the generous portion of the nation, were 
roused to a high state of indignation at such wanton, such 
unheard-of cruelty. This feeling found a representative 
in Dominic de Gourges, a native of Gascony. He fitted 
out, at his own expense, three ships, and with one hun- 
dred and fifty men sailed for Florida. He suddenly came 
upon the Spaniards and completely overpowered them. 
1568. Near the scene of their former cruelty he hanged about 
two hundred on the trees ; placing over them the inscrip- 
tion, " I do not this as unto Spaniards and mariners, but 
as unto traitors, robbers, and murderers !" Gourges im- 
mediately returned to France, when the " Most Christian" 
king set a price upon his head ; and he who had exposed 
his life, and sacrificed his fortune to avenge the insult 
offered to his country, was obliged to conceal himself to 
escape the gallows. Thus perished the attemjDt of the 
noble Coligny and the Huguenots to found a French Prot- , 
estant State in the New World. 

After the unsuccessful exjieditions of Cartier and Eo- 
berval, French fishermen, in great numbers, continued to 
visit the waters around Newfoundland. As the govern- 
ment had relinquished its claim to Florida, the idea was 
once more revived of colonizing on the shoi'es of the St. 
Lawrence. * 

1567. The Marquis de la Eoche obtained a commission for this 

purpose. His colonists, like those of Eoberval, were crimi- 
nals taken from the prisons of France : like his, this enter- 
prise proved an utter failure. The efforts of some mer- 



PORT ROYAL SETTLEMENT. 35 

chants, who obtained by patent a monopoly of the fur- ™j\^- 

trade, also failed. 

At length, a company of merchants of Kouen engaged 1603. 
in the enterprise with more success. That success may be 
safely attributed to Samuel Champlain, a man of compre- 
hensive mind, of great energy of character, cautious in aU 
his plans ; a keen observer of the habits of the Indians, 
and an unwearied explorer of the country. 

In the latter part of this same year, a patent, exclu- 
sive in its character, was given to a Protestant, the excel- 
lent and patriotic Sieur De Monts. The patent conferred 
on Mm the sovereignty of the coiintry called Acadie — a 
territory extending from Philadelphia on the south, to be- 
yond Montreal on the north, and to the west indeiinitely. 
It granted him a monopoly of the fur-trade and other 
branches of commerce ; and freedom in religion to the 
Huguenots who should become colonists. It was enjoined 
upon all idlers, and men of no profession, and banished 
persons to aid in founding the colony. 

The expedition was soon under way in two ships. In 
due time they entered a spacious harbor on the western 
part of Nova Scotia, which they named Port Eoyal, since 
Annapolis. The waters abounded in fish, and the coun- 
try was fertile and level — advantages that induced some of 
the emigrants to form a settlement. Others went to an 
island at the mouth of the St. Croix, but the next spring 1607. 
they removed to Port Boyal. This was the first perma- 
nent French settlement in the New World ; and these 
were the ancestors of those unfortunate Acadiens whose 
fate, nearly a century and a half later, forms a melancholy 
episode in American history. 

Among the influences exerted upon the Indians was 
that of the Jesuits, who, a few years afterward, were sent 
as missionaries to the tribes between the Penobscot and 
the Kennebec in Maine. These tribes became the allies 
of the French, and remained so during all their contests 



36 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, with the English. De Monts explored the coast and rivers 
of New England as far south as Cape Cod, intending 

1608. somewhere in that region to make a settlement ; but disas- 
ter followed disaster, tiU the project was finally abandoned. 

Meantime, Champlain, whose ambition was to estab- 
lish a State, had founded Quebec, that is, it was the 
centre of a few cultivated fields and gardens. Huguenots 
were among the settlers ; they had taken an active part in 
the enterprise ; but there were also others who were of the 
Catholic faith. Soon religious disjjutes as well as commer- 
cial jealousies arose, which retarded the progress of the 
colony. Champlain, the soul of the enterprise, was not 
idle ; he made many exploring expeditions, and discovered 

1609. the beautiful lake which bears his name. In spite of the 
quarrels between the Jesuits and the Huguenots, and the 
restlessness of the Indians and disappointments of various 
kinds, the persevering Champlain succeeded in establish- 

1631. ing a French colony on the banks of the St. Lawrence. 
For one hundred and twenty years it remained under the 
dominion of his native France, and then passed into the 
hands of her great rival. 



CHAPTEE VIII. 

ENGLISH ENTERPRISE. 

Sir Humphrey Gilbert. — The Fisheries. — St. Johns, Newfoundland. — Sir 
AValter Ealeigh. — Exploring Expedition. — Virginia ; failures to colo- 
nize. — Contest with Spain. — Death of Sir Walter. 



CHAP. 
VIII. 



England never reliaquislied her claims to North Amer- 
ica ; they were based upon the discovery and explorations 1569. 
of Sebastian Cabot. According to the received rales of 
the times, she was right, as he was imdoubtedly the 1497. 
first discoverer. Eor many reasons, she was not pre- 
pared to avail herself of these claims, till nearly ninety 
years after that discovery. This time was not passed by 
the English sailors in maritime idleness. During the reign 
of Henry VIII., intercourse was kept up with the fisheries 
of Newfoundland, that school of English seamen, in wliich 
were trained the men who gave to that nation the sujjrem- 
acy of the ocean, — the element upon which the military 
glory of England was to be achieved. The king cherished 
his navy, and took commerce under his special protection. 
The reign of Mary, of bloody memory, saw the strug- 
gle commence between England and Spain for the suijrem- 
acy on the ocean. She married Philip II., the most 
powerful monarch of the age : he designed to subject the 
English nation to himself, and its religion to the church of 
Eome. When this became known, the Protestant spirit 
rose in opposition. This spirit pervaded the entire people ; 



38 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

05,4?- they exerted their energies to the utmost. Instead of sub- 
VIII. . ■' . ... 
mitting to the dictation of Spam, England boldly assumed 

1570. the position of an antagonist. There was a marked con- 
trast between the two nations. The navy of the one was 
immense, that of the other was small, but brave and efE- 
cient : the one drew her wealth from mines of gold and 
silver in the New World — the other obtained hers by the 
slow process of industry and economy. The one became 
proud and indolent, luxurious and imbecile — the other 
may have become proud, but certainly not indolent; luxu- 
rious, but certainly not imbecile. 

On her accession, Queen Elizabeth pursued the policy 
of her father Henry VIII., towards her navy and com- 
From merce. While some of her subjects were trading by land 
with the east, others were on the ocean cruising against 
the Spaniards : some were prosecuting the fisheries around 
Newfoundland and in the seas northwest of Europe ; some 
were exploring the western coast of America, and the east- 
ern coast of Asia : others were groping their way among 
the islands of the extreme north, in a vain search for the 
north-west passage. 

Explorers were still haunted with the idea that mines 
of exhaustless wealth were yet to be found in the New 
World. Great was the exultation when a "mineral-man" 
of London declared that a stone brought by an English 
sailor from the Polar regions, contained gold. England 
was to find in the region of eternal snow mines of the pre- 
cious metal, more prolific than Spain had found in Mexico. 
Soon fifteen vessels set sail for this northern island, where 
there was " ore enough to sufiice aU the gold-gluttons of 
the world." They returned laden, not with golden ore, but 
1578. with worthless yellow stones. 

Meanwhile, the fisheries around Newfoundland had be- 
come a certain, though a slow source of wealth. Sir 
Humphrey Gilbert, a gentleman of distinction and of up- 
right principles, obtained a commission from the Queen to 



SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 39 

plant a colony in the vicinity of tliese fisheries. He ™.f^ 

landed at St. Johns, Newfoundland, and there in the 

presence of the fishermen of other nations, took formal Aug., 
possession of the territory in the name of his sovereign. He 
then passed further south, exploring the coast — but losing 
his largest ship with all on hoard, he found it necessary to 
sail for home. Only two vessels remained, one of which, 
the Squirrel, was a mere boat of ten tons, used to explore 
the shallow bays and inlets. The closing acts of Sir Hum- 
phrey's life aSbrd proofs of his piety and nobleness of char- 
acter. Unwilling that the humblest of his men should 
risk more danger than himself, he chose to sail in the boat 
rather than in the larger and safer vessel. A terrible storm 
arose ; he sat calmly reading a book — doubtless that book 
from which he drew consolation in times of sorrow and 
trial. To encourage those who were in the other vessel, he 
was heard to cry to them, " we are as near to heaven on 
sea as on land," — the reality of this cheering thought he 
was soon to experience. That night, those on the larger 
vessel saw the lights of the little boat suddenly disappear. 

The next attempt at colonization was made by Gilbert's 1534. 
half-brother. Sir Walter Ealeigh, one of the noblest of that 
age of noble spirits : gallant and courteous in his manners; 
a scholar, a poet, a benefactor of his race ; his name should 
ever be held in grateful remembrance by the people of this 
countiy. He studied the art of war with Coligny, the high 
admiral of France. When in that country, he determined 
to plant a colony in those delightful regions from which the 
Huguenots had been driven by the hand of violence. He 
had learned from them of the charming climate, where 
winter lingered only for a short time, — where the magnifi- 
cent trees and fragrant woods bloomed during nearly all 
the year, — where the gushing fountains, noble rivers, and 
fertile soil invited the industrious to enjoy the fruits of 
their labor. When Sir Walter returned home from France, 
he found the people j)repared to enter upon schemes of 



40 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, colonization in the south. They, too, had heard of those 

" delightful regions " from the Huguenots, who at sea had 

1584. heen rescued from death, and brought to England. Ka- 
leigh without difficulty obtained a commission, granting 
him ample powers, as proprietor of the territories he was 
about to colonize. He iirst sent an exploring expedition, 
consisting of two ships, under Philip Amidas and Arthur 
Barlow, to obtain more deiinite information of the country. 
They sailed the usual route, by the Canaries and the West 
Indies, came first u^jou the coast of North Carolina, landed 
upon one of the islands forming Ocracock inlet, and took 
formal possession of the country. They partially explored 
Albemarle and Pamlico sounds, and the islands and coast 
in the -vdcinity, and then sailed for home. They took with 
them two of the natives, Wanchese and Manteo ; the lat- 
ter was afterward very useful to the colonists as an inter- 
preter. Amidas and Barlow on their return, confirmed 
what the Huguenots had reported of the excellence of the 
country. They saw it in the month of July. They 
described the unruffled ocean, dotted with beautiful islands; 
the clearness of the atmosphere ; the luxiiriant forests 
vocal with the songs of birds ; the vines draping the trees, 
and the grapes hanging in clusters. This sunny land, in 
all its virgin beauty, appeared to these natives of foggy 
England, as the very paradise of the world. Elizabeth, 
delighted with the description, named the country Virginia, 
in honor of herself, as she took pride in being known as the 
Virgin Queen. 
April, It was not difficult now to obtain colonists ; soon a 

fleet of seven vessels was equipped, containing one hun- 
dred and eight persons, who intended to form a settle- 
ment. Sir Eichard Grenville, a friend of Kaleigh, and a 
man of eminence, commanded the fleet, and Kalph Lane 
was appointed governor of the colony. After a tedious 
voyage, they landed, in June, fifteen hundred and eighty- 
five, on an island called Koanake, lying between Albemarle 



EOANOKE ABANDONED. 41 

and Pamlico sounds. Before long they excited the enmity *^P- 

of the Indians. On one of their exploring expeditions, a 

silver cup was lost or stolen. The Indians were charged June, 
with the theft ; perhaps they were innocent. Because it ' 
was not restored, Grenville, with very httle prudence and 
less justice, set fire to their village and destroyed their 
standing corn. Little did he know the train of sorrow and 
death he introduced by thus harshly treating the Indians 
and making them enemies. A few weeks after the fleet 
sailed for England, unlawfully cruising agaihst the Span- 
ish on the voyage. Governor Lane now explored the 
country, noticed the various productions of the soil, and 
the general character of the inhabitants. The colonists 
found many strange plants ; — the corn, the sweet potato, 
the tobacco plant, were seen by them for the firsb time. 
Lane was unfit for his station ; he became unreasonably 
suspicious of the Indians. With professions of friendship, 
he visited a prominent chief, and was hospitably received 
and entertained ; this kindness he repaid by basely mur- 
dering the chief and his followers. Men capable of such i^^q^ 
treachery were necessarily unfit to found a Christian 
State. Provisions now began to fail and the colonists 
to despond. 

Just at this time Sir Francis Drake, on his way home 
from the West Indies, called to visit the colony of his 
friend Ealeigh. Though they had been but a year in the 
country, the colonists begged him to take them home. 
Drake granted their request. They were scarcely out of 
sight of land, when a ship, sent by Ealeigh, laden with 
supphes, arrived. The colonists could not be found, and 
the ship returned to England. In a fortnight Grenville 
appeared with three ships ; not finding the colonists he 
also returned home, unwisely leaving fifteen men to keep 
possession of the territory. 

Though disappointed Ealeigh did not despaii-. The 
natural advantages of the country had failed to induce the 



42 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CTAP. first company to remain. It was hoped, that if surrounded 
by social and domestic ties, future colonists would learn to 



15SG. look upon it as their true home. Sir Walter's second 
company was composed of emigrants with their families, 
who should cultivate the soil, and eventually found a State 
for themselves and their posterity. Queen Elizabeth pro- 
fessed to favor the enterprise, but did nothing to aid it. 
The expedition was fitted out with all that was necessary 
to form an agricultural settlement. Raleigh appointed 

Jan Jobn White governor, with directions to form the settle- 

1587. ment on the shores of Chesapeake bay. 

Tliey came first to the Island of Eoanoke, there to be- 
hold a melancholy spectacle — the bleaching bones of the 

July, men whom Grenville had left. All had become a desert. 
Doubtless they had been murdered by the Indians. Fer- 
nando, the naval officer in command of the fleet, refused 
to assist in exploring the shores of the Chesapeake, and 
the colonists were compelled to remain on the Island of 
Eoanoke. The scene of two failures was to be the witness 
of a third. The Indians were evidently hostile. The 
colonists becoming alarmed, urged the governor to hasten 

Aug. to England and speedily bring them assistance. Previous 
to his leaving, Mrs. Dale, his daughter, and wife of one of 
his lieutenants, gave birth to a female child, — the first 
child of Enghsh parentage born on the soil of the United 
States ; it was appropriate!}^ named Virginia. 

White on his return found England in a state of great 
excitement. The Pope had excommunicated Queen Eliza- 
beth, and had absolved her subjects from their allegiance 
to her throne ; at the same time promising her kingdom 
to any Catholic prince who should take possession of it. 
The revengeful Philip, of Spain, that good son of the 
Church, had been for three years preparing an immense 
army and fleet, with which he intended to invade and con- 
quer England. The fleet was boastfully named the Invin- 

1588. cible Armada. The Enghsh naval commanders flocked 



DEATH OF SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 43 



home from every part of the world to defend their native ™^P- 

land, and to battle for the Protestant religion. English 1 

seamanship and bravery completely triumphed. From 1588. 
that hour the prestige of Spain on the ocean was gone — it 
passed to England. It is not strange that in such exciting 
times the poor colonists of Koanoke were overlooked or for- 
gotten. As soon as the danger was passed, aid was sent ; 
but it came too late : not a vestige of the colony was to be 
found ; death had done its work, whether by the hand of 
the savage, or by disease, none can tell. "What may have 
been their sufferings is veiled in darkness. Eighty years 
after, the English were told by the Indians that the Hat- 
teras tribe had adopted the colonists into their number. 
The probability is that they were taken prisoners and car- 
ried far into the interior. A few years before Sir Francis 
Drake had broken up the Spanish settlement at St. 
Augustine. Thus, one hundred years after the first voy- 
age of Columbus, the continent was once more in the pos- 
session of the Eed Men. 

Sir "Walter Ealeigh had now expended nearly all his 
fortune ; yet, when he saw no prospect of ever deriving 
benefit from his endeavors, he sent several times, at his 
own expense, to seek for the lost colonists and to render 
them aid. Sir "Walter's genius and perseverance prepared 
the way for the successful settlement of Virginia ; he had 
sown the seed, others enjoyed the harvest. The remainder 
of his life was clouded by misfortune. On the accession 
of James I., he was arraigned on a frivolous charge 
of high treason ; a charge got up by his enemies, never 
substantiated, and never believed by those who condemned 
him. On his ti'ial he defended himself with a dignity and 
consciousness of innocence that excited the admiration of 
the world and put to shame his enemies. His remaining 
property was taken from him by the king, and for thirteen 
years he was left to languish in the Tower of London ; 



44 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. James not yet daring to order the execution of the patriot 

statesman, who was an ornament to England and the age 

1588. in which he lived. After the lapse of sixteen years the 
hour came, and Sir Walter met death on the scaffold with 
the calmness and dignity of an innocent and Christian 
man. 



CHAPTEK IX. 

THE SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 

London and Plymoutli Companies. — King James' Laws. — The Voyage and 
Arrival. — Jamestown. — John Smith ; his Character, Energy, Captivity, 
and Release. — Misery of the Colonists. — ^New Emigrants. — Lord Dela- 
ware. — Sir Thomas Gates. — Pocahontas ; her Capture and Marriage. — 
Teardley. — First Legislative Assembly. 

The bold and energetic Elizabeth was succeeded by the chap. 
timid and pedantic James I. To sustain herself against _____ 
the power of Spain, she had raised a strong militaiy force, 16O6. 
both on sea and land. But James had an instinctive 
dread of gunpowder, he was in favor of peace at all 
hazards, even at the expense of national honor. He dis- 
banded the greater portion of the army, and dismissed 
many of those employed in the navy. These men, left 
without regular employment, were easily induced to try 
their fortunes as colonists in Virginia. They were not 
good material, as we shall see, but they prepared the way 
for better men, and ultimately for success. Sir Walter 
Raleigh having sacrificed liis fortune in fruitless attempts 
to found a colony, had induced some gentlemen to form a 
company, and engage in the enterprise. To this com- 
pany he had transferred his patent, with all its privileges, 
on very liberal terms. The company manifested but little 
energy : they had neither the enthusiasm nor the liberality 
of Sir Walter. 

England claimed the territory from Cape Fear, in North 
Carolina, to Newfoundland, and to the West indefinitely. 



46 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. This territory King James divided into two parts : South 

. Virginia, extending from Cape Fear to the Potomac f and 

1606. North Viiginia, from the mouth of the Hudson to New- 
foundland. There were now formed two companies : one 
known as the London Company, principally composed of 
" noblemen, gentlemen, and merchants," residing in Lon- 
don ; the other the Plymouth Company, composed of 
" knights, gentlemen, and merchants," living in the West 
of England. To the London Company James granted 
South Virginia, to the Plymouth Company North Vir- 
ginia. The region between the Potomac and the mouth 
of the Hudson was to be neutral ground, on which the 
.companies were at liberty to form settlements within 
fifty miles of their respective boundaries. The London 
Company was the first to send emigrants. 

King James was enamored of what he called king- 
craft. He believed that a king had a divine right to make 
and unmake laws at his own pleasure, and was bound by 
no obligation, — not even to keep his own word. In main- 
taining the former of these kingly rights, James sometimes 
found difficulty; he was more successful in exercising the 
latter. He took upon himself the authority and labor of 
framing laws for the colony about to sail. These laws are 
a fair specimen of his kingcraft. They did not grant a 
single civil privilege to the colonists, who had no vote in 
choosing their own magistrates ; but were to be governed 
by two councils, both appointed by the king, — one resid- 
ing in England, the other in the colony. In religious ijiat- 
ters, differences of opinion were forbidden ; all must con- 
form to the rites of the church of England. The Indians 
were to be treated kindly, and if possible, converted to 
Christianity. 
1607. Three ships were sent with one hundred and five emi- 

grants ; of the whole number, not twenty were agricul- 
turists or mechanics, — there was not a family nor a woman 
in the company. The great majority were gentlemen, a 



SETTLEMENT OF JAMESTOWN. 47 

term then applied to those who had no regular employment, chap. 
but S2^ent their time in idleness and dissipation. 

The names of those who were to form the governing 1607. 
council, together with their instructions, were, by order of 
the king, foolishly sealed up in a box, there to remain until 
they were ready to form a government. Thus when dis- 
sensions arose on the voyage, there was no legal authority 
to restore harmony. 

Captain Newport, who commanded the expedition, 
came first upon the coast of North Carolina, intending to 
visit the island of Eoanoke, the scene of Raleigh's failures, 
but a storm suddenly arose, and fortunately drove him 
north into Chesapeake bay. The little fleet soon entered 
a large river, and explored its stream for fifty miles — then 
on the thhieenth of May, one thousand six hundred and May 
seven, the members of- the colony landed, and determined ' 
to form a settlement. The river was named James, and 
the settlement Jamestown, in honor of the king ; while the 
capes at the entrance of the bay, were named Charles and 
Heniy, in honor of his sons. 

In every successful enterprise, we observe the power of 
some one leading spirit. In this case, the man worthy the 
confidence of all, because of his knowledge, and natural 
superiority of mind, was Captain John Smith, justly styled 
the " Father of Virginia." Though but thirty years of 
age, he had acquired much knowledge of the world. He 
had travelled over the western part of Europe, and in Egypt; 
had been a soldier in the cause of freedom in Holland ; had 
fought against the Turks in Hungary, where he was taken 
prisoner, and sent to Constantinoj^le as a slave. He was 
rescued from slavery by a Turkish lady, conveyed to the 
Crimea, where he was ill-treated ; his proud spirit resisted, 
he slew his oppressor and escaped, wandered across the 
continent, and returned to England just as plans were 
maturing to colonize Virginia. He entered into the enter- 
prise with his habitual energy. His cool courage, his 



48 HISTOEY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, knowledge of human nature, civilized and savage, — but 

above all, his honesty and commou sense, fitted him for the 

1607. undertaking. 

The superiority of Smith excited the envy and jealousy 
of those who expected to be named members of the coun- 
cil, when the mysterious box should be opened. On false 
and absurd charges he was arrested and placed in confine- 
ment. The box was opened — the king had appointed him 
one of the council. An effort was made to exclude him, 
but he demanded a trial ; his accusers, unable to substan- 
tiate their charges, withdrew them, and he took his seat. 
Wingfield, an avaricious and unprincipled man, was chosen 
president of the council and governor of the colony. 

When these difiiculties were arranged, Newport and 
Smith, accompanied by some twenty men, spent three 
weeks in exploring the neighboring rivers and country. 
They visited Powhatan, the principal Indian chief in the 
vicinity — " a man about sixty years of age, tall, sour, and 
athletic." His capital of twelve wigwams, was situated at 
the falls of James river, near where Kichmond now stands. 
His tribe seems to have been fearful and suspicious of the 
intruding white men from the very first — impressed, it may 
be, with a foreboding of evil to come. 

Soon after, Newport sailed for home, leaving the colo- 
June. nists in a wretched condition. Their provisions nearly all 
spoiled, and they too idle to provide against the effects of 
the climate — much sickness prevailed, and more than half 
the company died before winter. To add to their distress, 
it was discovered that Wingfield had been living upon 
their choicest stores, and that he intended to seize the 
remainder of their provisions, and' escape to the West 
Indies. The council deposed him, and elected Eatchffe 
president. The change was not for the better ; he was 
not more honest than Wingfield, and mentally less fit 
for the station. In this emergency the control of affairs 
passed by tacit consent into the hands of Smith. He knew 



SMITH A PRISONER. 49 

from the first what was needed for the colony. As it was chap. 

now too late in the season to obtain food of their own rais- 

ing, he had recourse to trading with the Indians for corn. 1607. 
Toward the close of autumn, an abundance of wild fowl 
fiirnished additional provisions. The colony thus provided Dec. 
for, Smith further explored the neighboring rivers and 
country. In one of these expeditions he ascended a branch 
of the James river, and leaving the boat in care of his men, 
took with him his Indian guide, and struck out into the 
forest. Finding himself pursued by the Indians, he fas- 
tened his guide to his arm as a shield against their arrows, 
and defended himself with great bravery, but at length 
sinking in a swamp, he was taken prisoner. His captors 
regarded him with strange wonder ; his cool courage and 
self-possession struck them with awe. He, aware of the 
simplicity and inquisitiveness of the savage character, 
showed them his pocket compass. They wondered at the 
motion of the needle, and at the strange transparent cover, 
which secured it from their touch. Was their captive a 
superior being ? — was he friendly to themselves ? — how 
should they dispose of him .^ — were questions that now per- 
plexed them. They permitted him to send a letter to 1608. 
Jamestown. The fact that he could impress his thoughts 
upon paper, and send them far away, they regarded as 
strong proof of his suiseriority. He was led from place to 
place, to be gazed at by the wondering natives of the 
forest. For three days they performed powwows, or religious 
ceremonies, in order to learn from the spirit world some- 
thing of his nature and intentions. Finally, he was sent 
to Powhatan, to be disposed of as he should decide. The 
Indian chief received him with a great display of savage 
pomp, but decided that he must die. Preparations were 
made, but the eventful life of Smith was not destined to 
be closed by the war-club of the savage. The heart of 
Pocahontas, a young daughter of Powhatan, a girl of ten 
or twelve years of age, was touched with sympathy and 
4 



50 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. pity. She pleaded with her father for his life. She clung 

tenderly to him as he bowed his head to receive the fatal 

1608. stroke. Her interposition was received by the savages a^^ 
an indication of the will of heaven, and the life of Smith 
was spared. Her people have passed away — most of their 
names are forgotten, bnt the name of Pocahontas, and the 
story of her generous deed, will ever be honored and re- 
membered. 

The Indians now wished to adopt Smith into their 
number : they strove to induce him to join them against 
the English. He dissuaded them from an attack upon 
Jamestown, by representing to them the wonderful effects 
of the " big guns." After an absence of seven weeks, he 
.Jan. '*^^s permitted to return. He had obtained much valuable 
information of the country, of its inhabitants, their lan- 
guage and customs. 

He found the colony reduced in number to forty — in 
want of provisions, and iu anarchy and confusion, while 
some were making preparations to desert in the pinnace ; 
this he prevented at the risk of his life. The famishing 
colonists were partly sustained through the winter by the 
generous Pocahontas, who with her companions almost 
every day brought them baskets of corn. 

In the spring, Newport returned with another com- 
pany of emigrants ; like the first, " vagabond gentlemen," 
idlers, and gold-hunters. These gold-hunters lighted upon 
some earth, glittering with yellow mica ; they thought it 
golden ore. Every thing else was neglected ; the entire 
company engaged in loading the ships with this useless 
earth. What a blessing to England and the colony that 
it was not gold ! 

While the people of Jamestown were thus foolishly em- 
ployed, Smith explored the harbors and rivers of Chesa- 
peake bay, and established friendly relations with the 
Indians along its shores. From them he learned of the 
Mohawks, who " made war upon all the world." On his 



UNWORTHY EMIGRANTS. 51 

return, he was, for the first time, formally elected Presi- chap. 

dent of the Council. Industry was now more wisely 

directed ; but in the autumn came another company of 1608. 
idle and useless emigrants. Smith, indignant that his 
efforts to improve the colony should thus be frustrated, 
wrote to the council to send him but a few husbandmen 
and mechanics, and " diggers up of trees' roots," rather 
than a thousand such men as had been sent. The com- 
plaint was just. During two years they had not brought 
under cultivation more than forty acres of land, while 
the number of able-bodied men was more than two hun- 
dred. The energetic arm of Smith was soon felt. The 
first law he made and enforced was, that " He who would 
not work should not eat ;" the second, that " Each man 
for six days in the week should work six hours each 
day." 

In England, about this time, an unusual interest was May, 
manifested in the colony ; subscriptions were made to its 
stock, and the charter materially changed. The council 
was now chosen by the stockholders of the company, in- 
stead of being appointed by the king. Tliis councU ap- 
pointed the governor, but he could rule with absolute 
authority. Not a single privilege was yet granted the 
colonist : his property, his liberty, his hfe were at the dis- 
posal of the governor ; and he the agent of a soulless cor- 
poration, whose only object was gain. The company had 
expended money, but the course they themselves pursued 
prevented their receiving a return. Instead of sending the 
industrious and virtuous, they sent idlers and libertines ; 
instead of farmers and mechanics, they sent gold-seekers 
and bankrupt gentlemen. Instead of offering a reward to 
industry they gave a premium to idleness, by making the 
proceeds of their labor go into a common stock. 

The new charter excited so great an interest in the 
cause, that a fleet of nine ships was soon under way, con- 
taining more than five hundred emigrants, and, for the 



1609. 



52 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, first time, domestic animals and fowls. Lord Delaware, a 
nobleman of excellent character, was appointed governor 

1609. for life. As he was not prepared to come with this com- 
pany, he nominated Sir Thomas Gates, Sir George Somers, 
and Newport, to act as his commissioners until his own 
arrival. Seven of the vessels came safely, but the ship on 
which the commissioners embarked, with another, was 
wrecked on one of the Beiinuda islands. 

This company of emigrants appears to have been worse 
than any before. As the commissioners had failed to reach 
the colony, these worthies refused to submit to the author- 
ity of Smith, the acting President, contending that there 
was no legalized government. But these men, who " would 
rule all or ruin all," found in him a determined foe to dis- 
order and idleness ; he compelled them to submit. Un- 
fortunately, just at this time, he was injured by an acci- 
dental explosion of gunpowder, and obliged to return to 
England for surgical aid. He delegated his authority to 
George Percy, a brother of the Duke of Northumberland. 
And now the man who had more than once saved the 
colony from utter ruin, bade farewell to Virginia forever ; 
from his arduous labors he derived no benefit, but ex- 
Oct. perienced at the hands of the comjjany the basest in- 
gratitude. 

During the administration of Smith the Indians were 
held in check ; he inspired them with confidence and 
respect. When the colonists " beat them, stole their 
corn, and robbed their gardens," they complained to him, 
and he protected their rights. After liis dei3arture, they 
formed a plan to cut off the white men at a single blow ; 
but Pocahontas, that good genius of the English, came at 
night, in a driving storm, to Jamestown, revealed the plot, 
and saved the colony. 

1610. Wliat the Indians fixiled to do, vice and fiimine nearly 
accomplished. In six months after the departure of Smith, 
of the four hundred and ninety colonists only sixty were 



EMIGEANTS AND SUPPLIES. 53 

living, and they would have perished in a few days had ^^ap. 

they not obtained relief. Sir Thomas Gates, and those 

who were wrecked with him,, found means to bmld a 1611. 
small vessel, in which, at this crisis, they reached James ^ 
river. They were astonished at the desolation. They 
all determined to abandon the place and sail to New- 
foundland, and there distribute themselves among the 
fishermen. They dropped down the river with the tide, 
leaving the place without a regret. What was their sur- 
prise the next morning to meet Lord Delaware coming in 
with more emigrants and abundance of supplies. They re- 
turned with a favoring wind to Jamestown the same night. 

From this tenth day of June, one thousand six hun- 1611. 
dred and eleven, the colony began, under more favorable cir- 
cumstances, to revive. Other influences moulded their 
characters. They aclinowledged God in all their ways, 
and their paths were directed by His providential care. 
Under the just administration of the excellent Delaware, 
factions were unknown ; each one was disposed to do his 
duty. Before they commenced the labors of the day, they 
met in their little church to implore the blessing of 
heaven. The effects were soon visible in the order and 
comfort of the community. They cheered their friends in 
England : " Doubt not," said they, " God wUl raise our 
state and build his Church in this excellent clime." In 
about a year, failing health compelled Lord Delaware to 
return to England. He left Percy, Smith's successor, as 
his representative. 

The next year Sir Thomas Gates arrived, with six Aug., 
ships and three hundred emigrants ; a majority of whom ' 

were of a better class, temperate and industrious in their 
habits. A measure was now introduced which produced 
the greatest effect on the well-being of the colony : to each 
man was given a portion of land, which he was to culti- 
vate for himself The good result of this was soon seen in 
the abundance of provisions. The colony became so pros- 



54 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, perous tliat some of the neighboring tribes of Indians 
wished to be " called Englishmen," and to be subjects of 

1612. King James. Some of the colonists, however, manifested 
neither gratitude nor justice toward the natives. A neigh- 
boring chief was won by the gift of a copper kettle to be- 
tray into the hands of Captain Argall, Pocahontas, that 
faithful friend of the colony. Argall had the meanness to 
demand of her father a ransom. For three months the 
indignant Powhatan did not deign to reply. Meantime 
Pocahontas received religious instruction : her susceptible 
heart was moved, she became a Christian and was baptized ; 
she was the first of her race " who openly renounced her 
country's idolatry." John Rolfe, a pious young man, of 
" honest and discreet carriage," became interested in the 
youthful princess ; he won her affections and asked her in 
marriage. Powhatan was delighted. This marriage con- 
ciliated him and his tribe, and indeed gave general satis- 
faction, except to King James, who was greatly scandal- 
ized that any man, but one of royal blood, should presume 
to marry a princess. Eolfe took his wife to England, 
where she was much caressed. She never again saw her 
native land. Just as she was leaving England for Vir- 
ginia she died, at the early age of twenty-two. She left 
one son, whose posterity count it an honor to have de- 
scended from this noble Indian girl. 

Sir Thomas Dale introduced laws, by which private 
individuals could become jiroprietors of the soil. The land- 
holders directed their attention almost exclusively to the 
raising of tobacco, which became so profitable an article of 
export, that it was used as the currency of the colony. At 
one time, the public squares and streets of Jamestown 
were planted with tobacco, and the raising of corn so 
much neglected, that there was danger of a famine. 

IQIQ After a rule of two years, Dale resigned and returned 

to England, leaving George Yeardley as deputy-governor. 
During his administration, industry and prosperity con- 



HOUSE OF BURGESSES. 56 

tinuecl to increase. Under the influence of a faction, chap. 
Yeardley was superseded by the tyrannical Argall, but in 



two years his vices and extortion, in connection with frauds Jan., 
upon the company, procured his dismissal, and the people 
once more breathed freely under the second administration 
of the benevolent and popular Yeardley. 

Although the colony liad been in existence twelve '< 

years, it contained not more than six hundred persons, and 
they appeared to have no settled intention of making the 
country their permanent home. Efforts were still made 
to send emigrants, twelve hundred of whom came in one 
year, and every means were used to attach them to the 
soil. At different times the company sent over more than 
one hundred and fifty respectable young women, who be- 
came wives in the colony, their husbands paying the ex- 
pense of their passage. This was paid in tobacco, the cost 
of each passage varying from one hundred and twenty to 
one hundred and fifty pounds. It was deemed dishonorable 
not to pay a debt contracted for a wife ; and to aid the 
husbands, the government, in giving employment, preferred 
married men. Thus surrounded by the endearments of 
home and domestic ties, the colonists were willing to remain 
in the New World. 

Grovernor Yeardley was " commissioned by the com- 
pany " to grant the people the right to assist in making 
their own laws, for which purpose they could hold an 
Assembly once a year. In July, one thousand six himdred 
and nineteen, met the House of Burgesses, consisting of 
twenty-two members chosen by the people. A peculiar 
interest is attached to this first Legislative Assembly in 
the New World. The laws enacted exhibit the spirit of 
the people. " Forasmuche," said the Assembly, "as man's 
affaires doe little prosper when God's service is neglected, 
we invite Mr. Bucke, the minister, to open our sessions 
by prayer, — that it would please God to sanctifie aU our 
proceedinges to his ovne glory and the good of this plan- 
tation." They passed laws against vices, and in favor of 



56 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, industry and good order. "In detestation of idleness," 

the idlep was " to be sold to a master for wages till he 

1619. shewe apparent signes of amendment." Laws were made 
against playing of dice and cards, drunkenness, and other 
vices ; and to jjromote the " planting of come," of vines, 
of mulberry trees, and the raising of flax and hemp. They 
made provision " towards the erecting of the University 
and College." This was designed for the education of 
their own children, as well as for " the most towardly boyes 
in witt and graces" of the " natives' children." The gov- 
ernor and council sat with the Assembly, and took part in 
its deliberations. It was granted that a " generall Assem- 
bly should be held yearly once," " to ordain whatsoever 
laws and orders would be thought good and profitable for 
our subsistence." ' » 

This right of the people to have a voice in making 
their own laws, was rigidly maintained imtil it found its 
full fruition in the institutions established one hundred 
and fifty years afterward by the Kevolution. Emigration 
from England was greatly stimulated ; in a few years the 
population numbered nearly four thousand, while the 
inducements to industry and general prosperity increased 
in the same proportion. The company granted a written 
constitution, ruider which the people could have a legisla- 
tive assembly of their own choosing. It was necessary 
that the laws passed by the colonial legislature should be 
sanctioned by the company in England. As a check to 
royal interference, no laws emanating from the court 
could be valid, unless ratified by the House of Burgesses. 
Thus it continued untU the dissolution of the London com- 
pany, when King James arbitrarily took away its charter. 

' Art. IX., Vol. III., Part I. Second Series of Collections of the New 
York Historical Society. The " Reporte" of the proceedings of thi.s " First 
Assembly of Virginia," was discovered among the papers of the British 
State Paper Office. All trace of it had been lost for perhaps more than two 
centuries ; at length a search, instituted by Bancroft the historian, was suc- 
cessful. 



CHAPTEK X. 

COLONIZATION OF NEW ENGLAND. 

First voyages to. — Plymouth Company. — Explorations of John Smith. — The 
Church of England. — The Puritans. — Congregation of John Robinson. — 
" Pilgrims" in Holland. — Arrangements to emigrate. — The Voyage. — 
A Constitution framed on board the May-Flower. — Landing at Plym- 
outh. — Sufferings. — Indians, Treaties with. — " Weston's Men. " — 
Thanksgiving. — Shares of the London Partners purchased. — Democratic 
Government. 

The usual route to America had been by the Canaries and chap. 

the West Indies. Bartholomew Gosnold was the tirst [_ 

navigator who attempted to find a shorter one, by sailing igos. 
directly across the Atlantic. His eflfort was crowned with 
success : after a voyage of seven weeks, he came upon the 
coast in the vicinity of Nahant. Coasting along to the 
soufli, he landed upon a sandy point, which he named Cape 
Cod ; and passing round it he discovered Martha's Vine- 
yard, and several other islands in the vicinity. While he 
explored the coast he also traded with the natives, and 
when he had obtained a cargo of sassafras root, which in 
that day was much valued for its medicinal qualities, he 
sailed for home. The voyage consumed but five weeks, 
thus demonstrating the superiority of the new route. 

Gosnold, who saw the country in the months of May 
and June, was enraptured with its appearance — its forests 
blooming with shrubs and flowers; its springs of pure fresh 
water, and Uttle lakes; its beautiful islands nestling among 
equally beautiful bays along the coast. His description, 



58 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, together with the shortness and safety of the voyage, led 

to many visits and minor discoveries by Martin Pring and 

1007. others, all along the coast of New England. * 

The Plymouth Company, of which mention has been 
made, attempted to form a settlement at the mouth of the 
Kennebec in Maine. The rigors of a severe winter, and the 
death of their president, so discouraged the colonists, that 
they abandoned the enterprise, and returned to England. 

A few years afterward. Smith, whose valuable services 
we have seen in Virginia, undertook to explore the coun- 
try. He constructed a map of the eastern portion, and 
noted the prominent features of the territory. The coun- 
1614. try he named New England — a name confirmed by the 
Prince of Wales, afterward Charles I. After Smith lef^ 
for England, his associate, a cajDtain named Hunt, treacher- 
ously enticed twenty-seven of the natives with their chief, 
Squanto, on board his ship, then set sail. He sold these 
victims of his avarice into slavery in Spain. A few of 
them were purchased by some friars, who kindly taught 
them, in order to send them back as missionaries to their 
countrymen. Among this number was Squanto. 

In this age, we are unable to appreciate fully the trials 
and sufferings experienced by the explorers and first settlers 
of this continent. "When we remember the fradty of the 
vessels in wliich their voyages were made, the perils of the 
unexplored ocean, the dangers of its unknown coasts, the 
hostility of the wily savage, the diseases of an untried 
climate, the labor of converting the primitive forests into 
cultivated fields, we may well be astonished that such dif- 
ficulties were ever overcome. 

We have now to narrate the causes which led to the 
settlement of New England. Previous to the time of 
Henry VIII. the clergy and government of England had 
been in religious matters the implicit subjects of the church 
of Kome. While this may be said of the clergy it was dif- 
ferent with great numbers of the people. The spirit of 



THE EXILES RETURN HOME. 59 

religious trutli was pervading their minds and moulding chap. 

their character. They read the Bible in their own lau- !_ 

guage, discussed freely its truths, and comjDared them with 1525. 
the doctrines and practices of the Komish church. The 
Pope claimed to be the temporal and sj)iritual head of the 
church, and by virtue of this claim to depose princes or 
absolve subjects from their allegiance. Henry wished to 
be divorced from his queen in order to marry another ; but 
the Pope, to whom he applied, as the highest authority, 
hesitated to dissolve the marriage. The angry king, when 
threatened with excommunication, repudiated the Pope 
and his authority, and declared the English church inde- 1534. 
pendent of that of Kome. ParKament afterward confirmed 
by law what the king in a fit of anger had done, and 
recognized him as the head of the church in his own do- 
minions. Thus England, by the act of her own govern- 
ment, became Protestant. True reformation in religion 
does not apply so much to its external form, as to its effect 
upon the hearts and consciences of men. That portion of 
the English people who had learned this truth from the 
Word of God, recognized no human being as the head of his 
church ; they received Christ alone as the Head of his own 
church, and they refused to acknowledge the pretensions 
of the king. For the maintenance of this belief they were i55g_ 
persecuted through a series of years : during the reign of 
Henry for not admitting his authority in spiritual matters ; 
during the reign of his daughter Mary, still more fiercely, 
for denying the authority of the church of Rome. Many 
at the stake sealed their faith with their lives, and many 
fled to foreign lands. 

After the death of Mary the persecuting fires were ex- 
tinguished, and the accession of Elizabeth was the signal 
for the exiles to return home. They came back with more 
enlightened views of the rights of conscience and of free 
inquiry. Of these some were Presbyterians, some Con- 
gregationaHsts, and others members of the Established 



60 HISTOKT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CH^. Church. They demanded a more pure and spiritual wor- 

ship than that of the church of England. For this they 

1558. were in derision called Puritans — a name which they 
soon made respected, even by their enemies. Elizabeth 
was a Protestant, hut she was far from being a Puritan. 
She wished to have a church that should reconcile all 
parties, whose ceremonies should be a happy medium be- 
tween the showy church of Eouie and the simple form of 
worsliip asked for by the Puritans. She contended stren- 
uously for her headship of the church, while the Puritan 
rejected the presumptuous doctrine. She demanded of her 
subjects implicit obedience to her in religious matters : 
the Puritan took the high ground that it was his right to 
worship God according to his own conscience. 

Severe laws were passed from time to time, and they 
were enforced with unrelenting cruelty. All were en- 
joined to conform to certain ceremonies in worship. Those 
who did not comply were banished ; if they returned with- 
1603. out permission, the penalty was death. The person accused 
was compelled to answer on oath all questions, whether per- 
taining to himself or to his fellow-worshippers. Ministers 
who would not comply with these laws were driven from 
their parishes ; the members of their congregations were 
" beset and watched night and day ;" if they were de- 
tected in listening to their deprived ministers, or were 
absent a certain length of time from the services of the 
Established Church, they were fined and imprisoned, and 
punished in various ways. To avoid the effects of such 
intolerable laws, many bade farewell to their native land, 
and Holland and Switzerland became the asylum of some 
of the noblest men and women of England. 

Thus the contest had raged for nearly forty years, 
when, in the latter part of Queen Elizabeth's reign, the 
Puritans began to hope that the dark clouds of persecu- 
tion which had so long overshadowed the land would be 
dispelled under her successor, James I., who was edu- 



CONGREGATION OF JOHN KOBINSON. 61 

cated in Scotland, principally imder Presbyterian influ- chap. 

ence. They had reason to believe he would protect them ^ 

in the exercise of their form of worship. They were grossly 1003. 
deceived, and cruelly disappointed. "When it was for his 
interest, James professed to be very favorable to the Kef- 
ormation, and more especially to the Puritan form. Upon 
one occasion, standing with his hands lifted up to heaven, 
he " praised God that he was king of such a kirk — the 
purest Mrk in aU the world ; " adding, " As for the kirk of 
England, its service is an evil said mass." Such was the 
language of James just before he became king. The mo- 
ment he ascended the throne he threw off the mask, and 
openly proclaimed his famous maxim, " No bishop, no 
king." The Puritans humbly petitioned him for a redress 
of grievances ; he treated them with the greatest con- 
tempt. Said he to his bishops : " I wUl make them con- 
form, or I will harry them out of the land, or else worse : 
only hang them — that's all." 

During all these years they hoped for better times, and 
were unvriUing to separate from the church of their fathers ; 
but suffering and persecution at length brought that hour. 
Hitherto individuals and families had gone into exUe ; but 
now, in the north of England, a pastor, with all his con- 
gregation, determined to leave their homes and flee to 
Holland, where there was already a church of Enghsh 
exiles. This was the congregation of John Kobinson. 
These poor people were harassed by the minions of the 
king and clergy, and subjected to the petty annoyances 
dictated by religious intolerance. Preparations were made 
for them to leave. As they were about to sail, the officers 
of the government, with the connivance of the captain of 1608. 
the ship, came on board the vessel, and arrested the whole 
company ; searched their persons, took possession of their 
effects, and carried them to prison; men, women, and 
children. In a short time most of them were released ; 
only seven persons were brought to trial. They also 



62 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, were liberated. The court could not convict them of 

X. 

crime. 

1608. The members of the congregation persevered ; and soon 

they engaged a Dutch captain to take them from an un- 
frequented common. The women and children were to be 
taken to the place of embarkation in a small boat, the 
men to go by land. The latter reached the ship, and 
were taken on board. The boat containing the women 
and children was stranded, and before it could be got off 
they were seized by a party of their enemies. The cap- 
tain, lest he should become involved in difficulties with 
the English authorities, sailed immediately, taking with 
him the men, overwhelmed with grief for their defenceless 
wives and children in the hands of their cruel oppressors. 
The poor women and helpless children were dragged, suf- 
fering from cold, hunger, and fear, before a magistrate, as 
if they had been guilty of crime. They were treated very 
harshly, but were finally permitted to join their husbands 
and fathers in Holland. 

Now they were Pilgrims indeed, strangers in a strange 
land ; " but they hfted up their eyes to heaven, their 
dearest country, and quieted their spirits." They re- 
mained about a year at Amsterdam ; not satisfied, how- 
ever, they removed to Leyden. Their integrity and in- 
dustry, their piety and self-denial, in what they believed 
to be the cause of truth, elicited the respect of the 
Dutch. The government officers would have treated 
them with marked favor, but they feared to offend King 
James. From year to year they received accessions from 
their brethren in England. They were still surrounded 
by evils, which made it necessary for them again to 
change their homes. Their labors were severe ; though 
frugal and industrious, they obtained a support with 
great difficulty. The desecration of the Sabbath, the 
dissolute morals of the disbanded soldiers and sailors 
among whom they were thrown, caused them to fear for 



THEY APPLY TO THE LONDON COMPANY. 63 

their children. Holland could not be their permanent chap. 
home. It dawned upon the minds of the more intelKgent, _i__ 
that it was their duty to seek some other land. Their 1616. 
thoughts were directed to the wilderness of the New 
World. They express not a wish in regard to worldly 
comfort, but a desire to consecrate all to the great cause 
of jn'omoting Christianity. 

Though they had been so harshly treated by England, 
they loved her still, and were not willing to accept the 
offers made them, to colonize under the protection of the 
Dutch. They had heard of the fine climate and the set- 
tlement of Virginia, and resolved to apply to the London 1617. 
Company for permission to emigrate to their territory. For 
this purpose they sent two of their number, John Carver 
and Kobert Cushman, to confer with the company. Their 
proposition was favorably received by the excellent Sir 
Edwin Sandys, the secretary. Their request, signed by the 
greater part of the congregation, was afterward sent to the 
company. In it they made a summaiy of their principles, 
and a statement of their motives of action. They said, " We 
verily believe that God is with us, and will prosper us in our 
endeavors ; we are weaned from our mother country, and 
have learned patience in a hard and strange land. We 
are industrious and frugal ; we are bound together by a 
sacred bond of the Lord, whereof we make great con- igi9_ 
science, holding ourselves to each other's good. We do not 
wish ourselves home again ; we have nothing to hope from 
England or Holland ; we are men who will not be easily 
discouraged." 

They were to emigrate under the sanction of the com- 
pany ; but owing to dissensions in the company itself, the 
plan was not carried out. At this time the king was op- 
pressing their brethren in England more and more ; the 
only favor the Pilgrims could obtain from him was a half 
promise that he would not molest them in the wilds of 
America. In truth, James wished to be freed from those 



64 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, of his subjects who had any just notions of human rights. 
_i__ Said he, "I would rather live hke a hermit in the forest, 

1619. than be a king over such people as the pack of Puritans 
that overrule the House of Commons !" 

Tliere was yet another difficulty. The Pilgrims were 
poor — poor indeed ; in their persecution and exile they had 
lost their all. Upon very hard conditions they secured the 
means to emigrate ; yet they were willing to make any 
sacrifice could they but worship God in peace, and protect 
the morals of their children. 

A company was now formed of London merchants, who 
agreed to furnish the money, while the emigrant was to 
give his entire services for seven years ; these services were 
to constitute his stock in the company. The profits were 
to be reserved to the end of that time, then a valuation of 
all the property held by the company was to be made, and 

1620. the amount distributed to each in proportion to his in- 
vestment. By contract, the merchant who invested ten 
pounds received as much as the colonist who gave seven 
years of labor. This throwing of all their labor and capital 
into a common stock, was the result of necessity, not of 
choice. 

They purchased one ship, the Speedwell, and hired 
another, the May-Flower, a ship of one hundred and eighty 
tons. As these vessels could carry only a part of the con- 
gregation, they determined to send the younger and more 
vigorous, while the pastor, Kobinson, and the aged and in- 
firm, were to remain at Leyden. Their ruling Elder, 
William Brewster, who had suffered much in the cause, 
and was respected and loved for his integrity, was to 
conduct the emigrants. Before they left, they observed a 
day of fasting and prayer. They " sought of God a right 
way for themselves and their little ones." 

The parting address of the venerable Eobinson gives 
us a ghmpse of the principles in which, from year to year, 
he had instructed them. As he addressed them for the 



THE EMBARKATION. 65 

last time, he said : " I charge you before Grod and his holy chap. 

angels, that you follow me no farther than you have seen 

me follow the Lord Jesus Christ. If God reveal any thing 1620. 
to you, he ready to receive it ; for I am" verily jiersuaded 
the Lord has more truth yet to break forth out of his Holy 
Word. I beseech you remember it is an article of your 
church covenant, that you be ready to receive whatever 
truth shall be made known to you from the written Word 
of God. Take heed what you receive as truth ; examine 
it, consider it, and compare it with other scriptures of 
truth before you receive it ; the Christian world has not 
yet come to the perfection of knowledge." 

A number of their brethren came from Leyden to 
Delft-Haven, where they were to embark. The night 
before their departure was passed in rehgious inter- 
course and prayer : as the morning dawned, they prepared 
to go on board the ship. On the shore they all knelt, 
and the venerable Robinson led them in prayer — they 
heard his voice for the last time. They sailed first to 
Southampton ; in a fortnight they left that place for their 
distant home. It is soon discovered that the Speedwell 
needs repairs, and they must return. After the lapse of Aug. 
eight days of precious time, again they make the attempt, ^• 
and still again the captain of the Speedwell asserts that his 
ship cannot cross the Atlantic. They put back to Plym- 
outh : they there leave the Speedwell, and those whose 
courage failed them, and to the number of one hundred and 
one once more commit themselves to the winds and waves, 
trusting to the good providence of God. Sept. 

Let us glance for a moment at the circumstances and ^• 
characteristics of this company. They were bound to- 
gether by the strong bond of religious sympathy — united 
in interest and purpose, they expected to endure, to suffer, 
to rejoice together for many years, even to the end of hfe. 

Prominent among them was WilUam Brewster, the 
ruling elder and lay preacher, already mentioned, who was 
5 



66 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, to supply the place of the pastor Eobinson. He was a man 
' of education, of refined associations, and above all of a 

1620. lovely and Christian spirit. " He laid his hand to the daily 
tasks of life, as well as spent his soul in trying to benefit 
his fellows — so bringing himself as near as possible to the 
early Christian practices ; he was worthy of being the first 
minister of New England." ' There was also the dignified 
and benevolent John Carver, the worthy governor of this 
band of Christian exiles, who in the cause laid down his 
fortune, and at length his life — for he soon sank beneath 
the hardships to which he was unused. These two were 
comparatively old men, but most of the " Pilgrim 
Fathers " were in the bloom and vigor of life. 

William Bradford was but thirty-two, earnest, saga- 
cious, true and steady in purpose, " a man of nerve and 
public spirit ;" self-educated, and so ardent in the pursuit 
of knowledge, that amidst all his trials and labors, he 
accumulated books, and found time to read and even to 
study them. As a farmer's boy in England, as a dyer in 
Holland, as the governor of a small nation in the wilds of 
America, he acted well his part. 

Edward Winslow was " a gentleman born," with a 
mind cultivated by travel and books ; gentle in manner as 
in spirit, his soul melted at the sorrows of others. Miles 
Standish was a soldier, fearless, but not rash ; impetuous, 
but not vindictive : though not a member of the church, 
he was strongly attached to its institutions and to its most 
rigorous advocates. Winslow was twenty-six, and Stan- 
dish thirty-six years of age. 
IJoy_ A tedious voyage of sixty-three days brought them in 

10. sight of Cape Cod. They had left their native land to 
seek in a howling wilderness an asylum from persecution. 
They had not the sanction of a charter from their king, 
and they appealed to no body of men for protection : they 

' Elliott's History of New England. 



A CONSTITUTION ADOPTED. 67 

must have a government ; they were all on an equality, chap. 
and they now drew up a constitution, or compact, to which " 
the men, servants and all, to the number of forty-one, sub- 1620. 
scribed their names, and mutually pledged their obedience. 

The words of this first constitution, made and adopted 
by an entire people, plainly indicate whence its principles 
were derived. They say, " In the name of Grod, amen : 
we whose names are underwritten, having undertaken for 
the glory of God and advancement of the Christian faith, 
a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of 
Virginia, do solemnly and mutually in the presence of God, 
and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together 
into a body politic ; and by virtue hereof, to enact such 
just and equal laws from time to time, as shall be thought 
most convenient for the good of the colony. Unto which 
we promise all due submission and obedience." Thus the 
principle of popular liberty, that laws and constitutions 
should be framed for the benefit of the entire people, found 
its utterance in the cabin of the May-Flower, by the act 
of the people themselves. 

John Carver was elected governor for one year. Miles 
Standish, who had been an officer in the army sent by 
Queen Elizabeth to aid the Dutch against the Spaniards, 
was chosen captain. Winter was coming on — they were 
anxious to land, but unfortunately the shallop needed 
repairs. In the mean time Standish, Bradford, and others, 
impatient of delay, went to seek a convenient harbor, and 
a suitable place for a settlement. The country was covered 
with snow ; in one place they found some baskets of corn, 
and in another an Indian burial-ground. 

In a fortnight the shallop was ready for use, and the 
governor, Winslow, Bradford, and Standish, with others 
and some seamen, went to explore the bay. The cold was 
intense, freezing the spray of the sea on their clothes, luitil, 
as they expressed it, they were made as hard as iron. They 
landed occasionally, found graves and a few deserted wig- 



68 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, warns, but no other evidence of human beings. On one of 

these occasions they encamped at night on the shore near 

1620. where the shallop was moored. The next morning as they 
were closing their devotions, they were startled by a strange 
cry — the war-whoop of the savage — it was accompanied by 
a flight of arrows. At the report of their guns the Indians 
fled. All that day was spent in seeking a safe harbor for 
the ship. Near night a violent storm of rain and snow 
drove them through the breakers into a cove, protected 
from the blast by a hill. In the midst of the tempest they 
landed, and with difficulty kindled a fire. In the morning 
they found they were on an island at the entrance of a 
harbor. The next day was the Sabbath ; though urged by 
every consideration to hasten to the ship, they religiously 
observed the day. 

On the morrow, December twenty-second, one thousand 
Dec. six hundred and twenty — a day ever to be remembered in 
^^- the annals of our country, the Pilgrims landed. The 
place they named after the town in England from 
which they last sailed. The blessings which have flowed 
from the settlement of New England are associated with 
the spot where they first set foot — the Kock of Plym- 
outh. 

No time was spent in idleness. A place was selected 
for the settlement, and divided into lots for families. On 
the third day they began to build ; their houses went up 
but slowly ; the forest trees must first be felled and spht 
into timbers ; the season was inclement — their strength 
failed them : many from exposure had received into their 
bodies the seeds of death ; many were sick, and many died. 
At one time there were only seven of the whole company 
not disabled by sickness. During the winter, more than 
forty were numbered with the dead; among these were the 
wives of Bradford and Winslow, and also Kose, the young 
bride of Miles Standish. The benevolent Carver lost his 
son— then he himself sunk in death, soon to be followed 



PRIVATIONS AND HEROISM. 69 

by his broken-lieartecl widow. They were all buried but chap. 

a short distance from the rock on which they had landed. 

Lest the many graves should tell the Indians the story of 1621. 
weakness and of death, the spot where they rested was |" 
levelled and sown with grass. At length spring drew near, 
and warm winds from the south moderated the cold. The 
trees began to put forth their foliage, and among their 
branches the "birds to sing pleasantly," while the sick 
were gradually recovering. 

When the May-Flower left for England, not one of 
these heroic men and women desired to leave the land of 
their adoption. They had now a government ; they had a 
church covenant ; they had a constitution under which 
their rights were secured, and each one according to his 
indi\adual merit could be respected and honored. So dear 
to them were these privileges, that all the privations they 
had suffered, the sickness and death which had been in 
their midst, the gloomy jjrospect before them, could not 
induce them to swerve from their determination to found a 
State, where these blessings should be the birth-right of 
their children. 

Famine pressed hard upon them, for in the autumn Nov. 
they were joined by some new emigrants, who had come ^^■ 
ill-provisioned ; and for the succeeding six months they 
had only half a supjily. " I have seen men," says Wins- 
low, " stagger by reason of faintness for want of food." 
Their privations for two or three years were greater than 
those of any colony planted in the coimtry. But their 
implicit coniidence in the goodness of God was never 
shaken. At times Indians were seen hovering around theii 
settlement, but no communication had been held with 
them, as they fled when approached. One day, to their 
surprise, an Indian boldly entered their village, crying out, 
welcome Englishmen ! welcome Englishmen ! It was 
Samoset. He belonged to the Wampanoags, a tribe Hving 



70 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, in the vicinity. He had learned a few English words from 
' the fishermen on the Penobscot. 

1621. Samoset, in the name of his tribe, told the Pilgrims 

to possess the land, for the year before those to whom it 
belonged had been swept away by a pestilence. This an- 
nouncement was a great relief to their fears. Samoset 
soon again appeared, and with him Squanto, who, as has 
been mentioned, had been kidnapped and sold into slavery 
in Spain, had been freed, found his way to England, and 
finally home. They announced that Massasoit, the grand 
sachem of the Wampanoags, desired an interview. The 
chief and his retinue of warriors had taken their position 
on a neighboring hill. Squanto acted as interpreter. A 
treaty of friendship was made between the chief and the 
English, by which they promised to defend each other 
when attacked by enemies. For more than fifty years, till 
King Philip's war, this treaty was observed. The Pil- 
grims offered to pay for the baskets of co]-n they had 
found buried ; this they did six months afterward when 
the owners appeared. A trade, very beneficial to the 
colony, commenced with the Indians, who promised to seU 
them all their furs. 

Why not remember the humble services of Squanto.^ 
The Pilgrims looked upon him as " a special instrument 
sent of God for their good beyond their expectation." He 
taught them how to plant corn, to put fish with it to make 
it grow, where to find the fish and how to take them. He 
was their interpreter and their pilot. Under his tuition 
they soon raised corn so abundantly as to have a surplus to 
exchange with the Indians for furs. By means of these 
furs they obtained from England the merchandise they 
wanted. He remained their friend till his deatli, and when 
dying asked the governor to pray that he might go to 
the " Englishman's God in heaven." 

Massasoit desired the alliance with the Pilgrims as a 
protection against Canonicus, the chief of the powerfiJ 



" WESTON'S MEN." 71 

Narragansetts, who lived on the shores of the beautiful bay chap. 
which bears their name. Canonicus was not, however, to 



be deterred from exhibiting his hostility. As a challenge 1622. 
he sent to Plymouth some arrows wrapped in the skin of 
a rattlesnake. Bradford, who was now governor, sent 
back the same skin filled with powder and shot. The In- 
dians looked upon it as containing a deadly influence, to 
be exerted against the enemies of the English. In terror 
they sent it from tribe to tribe, none of whom dared either 
keep or destroy it. Finally, the sMn and its contents 
were returned to the colony. Canonicus himself, in a 
short time, desired an alliance of peace ; evidently more 
from fear than from good-will. 

In trade the Pilgrims took no advantage of the igno- 
rance of the Indians. They became involved in difficul- 
ties with them, however, through the improper conduct 
of others. 

Thomas Weston, a merchant of London, who had in- 
vested money in the enterprise of founding the Plymouth 
Colony, now wished to engross the entire profits of the fur 
trade with the Indians. He obtained a patent for a small 
district, near Weymouth, on Boston harbor, and sent over 
about sixty men, chiefly indented servants. These men 
ill treated the Indians, stole their corn, and thus excited 
their hostility. The savage seeks redress by murdering 
those wiio do him wrong. The Indians did not distinguish 
between the honesty and good-wiU of the Pilgrims, and 
the dishonesty and evil acts of " Weston's men ;" they 
plotted to involve all the white strangers in one common 
ruin. Massasoit was dangerously sick ; Winslow kindly 
visited him ; turned out of the wigwam the Indian doctors, 
who were malnng a great noise to drive off the disease, and 
relieved the chief by giving him medicine and quiet. The 
grateful Massasoit revealed the plot. The people were 
greatly alarmed ; they had heard of a terrible massacre in 
Virginia, and they feared such would be their own expe- 



72 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, rience. Not a moment was to be lost ; they must act in 

self-defence. Captain Standish hastened with eight men 

1623. to the assistance of those at Weymouth. He arrived in 
^' time not only to prevent the attack, but to surprise the 
Indians themselves. In the conflict, the principal plotting 
chief and some of his men were kiUed. This exploit 
taught the Indians to respect the English ; many of the 
neighboring chiefs now sought peace and alliance. When 
the good pastor, Mr. Robinson, heard of this conflict, he 
exclaimed, " Oh that they had converted some before they 
killed any ! " One year saw the beginning and the end of 
this trading establishment at Weymouth. Apprehension 
of danger from the natives was now removed. 

As thanksgiving is fast becoming a national festival, 
the manner in which it was first instituted has a pecuhar 
interest. In the autumn of 1623, after the fruits of the 
harvest were gathered in. Governor Bradford sent out a 
company for game, to furnish dainty materials for a feast. 
God had blessed their labors, and this was to be a feast of 
THANKS-GIVING. " So they met together and thanked 
God with all their hearts, for the good world and the good 
things in it." 

The merchant partners in England complained of the 
small profits derived from their investments. They began 
to neglect the interests of the colony, and to manifest their 
displeasure in various ways. They would not permit 
Eobinson and his family, with the remainder of the church 
at Leyden, to join their friends at Plymouth. They sold 
the colonists goods at enormous prices, and sent a ship to 
rival them in their limited fur trade. They outraged their 
feelings by attempting to force upon them one Lyford, a 
clergyman friendly to the Established Church. Lyford was 
expelled from Plymouth, not on account of his rehgious 
views, but, according to Bradford, for conduct injurious to 
the colony and immorahty. 

In time industry and frugality triumphed ; the Pil- 



DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT. 73 

grims in five or six years were able to purchase the entire chap. 
stock of those who were annoying them in this ungenerous _i__ 
manner. The stock and the hxnd were equitably divided, Nov. 
and the arrangement of private property fully carried out, ^^^"' 
each one becoming the owner of a piece of land. 

Though the Pilgrims had no charter, they formed a 
government upon the most liberal principles. They had a 
governor, who was chosen by the people, and whose power 
was limited by a council of five. For more than eighteen 
years the whole male population were the legislators. 1640. 

They were the pioneers of religious freedom — the 
o]3eners of an asylum in the New World, to which the 
persecuted for religion's sake, and political opinions, have 
been flocking from that day to this. Says Governor Brad- 
ford, in his history of the colony : " Out of small begin- 
nings great things have been produced, by His hand that 
made aU things out of nothing ; and as one small candle 
will light a thousand, so the light here kindled hath shone 
to many, yea to our whole nation." 



CHAPTER XI. 

COLONY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY. 

A Company organized. — Settlement of Salcni. — The Charter transferred. — 
Boston and Vicinity settled. — Encouragements. — Disputes. — Roger 
Williams ; his Banishment ; he founds Providenee. — Discussions re- 
newed. — Anne Hutchinson. — Settlement of Rhode Island. — The Dutch 
at Hartford ; Disputes with. — Migrations to the fertile Valley of the Con- 
necticut ; Hooker and Haynes. — Springfield. — Fort at Saybrooke. — Pe- 
quods become hostile. — Expeditions against them ; their utter Ruin. — 
Rev. John Davenport. — Settlement of New Haven. — Sir Ferdinand 
Gorges. — New Hampshire. — The United Colonies. — The Providence 
Plantations. — Educated Men. — Harvard College. — The Printing Press. — 
Common Schools. — Grammar Schools. — Quakers; Persecution of. — Eliot 
the Apostle. — The Mayhews. — Progress. 

CHAP. Persecution raged through the reign of James, and 

threatened to continue through the reign of his son and 

1624. successor, Charles I. 

The various accounts sent to England hy the colonists 
at Plymouth, excited great interest, especially in the 
minds of the Puritans. They listened to them as to a 
voice from Heaven, calling upon them to leave their native 
land, and join their brethren in these ends of the earth. 
This was not wild enthusiasm, hut the calm promptings 
of duty. 

Pamphlets were published giving descriptions of the 
land of promise ; it promised not wealth and ease, but only 
peace and quietness. There were many who preferred 
these, with toils and privations in the wilds of America, to 
religious persecutions in their own land. 



THE SETTLEMENT OF SALEM. 75 

The Eev. Mr. White, of Dorchester, was a controllina; chap. 

XI 

spirit in the enterjjrise. He was a Puritan, but not of the 1_ 

Separatists from the Established Churchj as wore Eobin- 1034. 
son and his congregation. 

The Council of Plymouth had taken the place of the 1620. 
old Plymouth Company. This council had no worthier 
object than gain ; it granted the same region to different 
individuals, and thus laid the foundation for endless dis- 
putes. It sold to some gentlemen of Dorchester a belt of 
territory, extending from three miles south of Massachu- 
setts bay to three miles north of any part of Merrimac 1628. 
river, and, as usual, west to the Pacific. The company 
prepared to send a colony. The care of the enterprise 
was intrusted to one of their number, John Endicott, a 
man of stern character and sterling integrity. He brought 
with him his family, and about one hundred other per- 
sons ; they landed at Salem, and there commenced the 
colony of Massachusetts Bay. Men of wealth and influ- Sept. 
ence, such as Winthrop, Thomas Dudley, Saltonstall, Bel- 
lingham, Johnson, Simon Bradstreet, William Codding- 
ton, and others, who afterward exerted a great influence 
in the colony, were willing to bear a part in carrying the 
"pure gospel" to New England. The king looked upon 
the colony about to be founded more as a trading corpo- 
ration than as the germ of an independent nation, and he 
willingly gave them a charter, under which they lived more 
than fifty years. By the terms of this charter the royal ;Mar. 
signature was not necessary to give validity to the laws 1^29. 
made under it. 

Soon another choice company, in which " no idle per- 
sons were found," was ready to sail. The good Francis 
Higginson accompanied them as their minister. As the 
shores of England receded from sight, Higginson expressed 
the feelings of the emigrants ; as from the deck of the ship 
his eyes turned for the last time to his native land, he 
exclaimed, " Farewell, England ! — farewell, all Christian 



76 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



CHAP, friends ! — we separate not from the church, but from its 

corruptions ; — we go to spread the gospel in America." 

1629. There were about two hundred in this company ; the ma- 
""*' jority remained at Salem, the rest went to Charlestown. 
Privations and exposure brought sickness, and before the 
end of a year death had laid his liand on more than half 
their number, among whom was their pastor, Higginson. 
When the summons came, the dying seemed only to re- 
gret that they were not permitted to aid their brethren in 
founding a pure church in the wilderness. 

The charter contained no provision for the rights of 
the people, it left them at the mercy of the corporation ; 
and as long as that charter remained in England, they 
could take no part in their own government. It was also 
silent on the subject of their religious freedom ; at any 
moment this might be interfered with by the king and his 
clergy. There was only one way to be freed from such 
undue interference. By the charter their governing coun- 
cil could choose the place of meeting for the transaction 
of business. It was a bold step ; but they chose, here- 
after, to meet on the soil of the colony. This transfer of 
the governing council and charter made its government 
virtually independent. 

The officers were to be a governor, a deputy governor, 
and eighteen assistants. These were elected before leav- 
1630. ing England. John Winthrop was chosen governor, and 
Thomas Dudley deputy governor. A fleet of seventeen 
ships set sail with the officers elect, and fifteen hundred 
emigrants ; they arrived in June and July. Their arrival 
was opportune, for those who had preceded them were in 
great distress from sickness and scarcity of food. 

Settlements were now made at various places around 
the bay; Charlestown, Newtown, Dorchester, Watertown. 
A fine spring of pure water, on the peninsula called Shaw- 
mut, induced the governor and some other persons to settle 
there. The position was central, and it became the capital, 



ENCOURAGEMENTS. 77 

under the name of Boston. The change of climate and ^l^^"- 
mode of living brought disease upon great numbers ; yet 



they looked upon their sorrows as so many trials, designed 1630. 
to make them appreciate still more the blessings which 
the future had in store for them. As they hoped, these 
evils gradually passed away, and prosperity smiled. 

At first, the assistants could hold office for life, and 
in addition it was their privilege to elect the governor. 
The people became jealous of their liberties ; the dispute 
was compromised by their electing their magistrates annu- 
ally. They were to be chosen by the freemen of the 1631. 
colony, of whom no one who was not a church member 
could have a vote. This law was injudicious, though 
enacted with the best intentions. They wished a govern- 
ment based on purely religious principles, and they thought 
to secure such a government by allowing none but the 
religious to take part in it. Another change was made 
from the purely democratic form, when all the freemen 
met in convention and voted on the laws, to that of the 
republican, when the people elected deputies, who were au- 
tliorized to legislate and transact the affairs of the colony. 

The colonists dealt honestly with the Indians and en- 
deavored to preserve their good will. They "were to 
buy their lands, and not to intrude upon, and in no respect 
injure them ;" they also " hoped to send the gospel to the 
poor natives." Many of the neighboring chiefs desired 
their friendship. One came from the distant river Con- 
necticut ; he extolled its fertile valleys and blooming 
meadows ; he offered them land near him, because he 
wished their protection against the brave and fiery 
Pequods. Fraternal and Christian intercourse was held 
from time to time with the old colony of Plymouth ; as a 
harbinger of the future, there came from Virginia a vessel 
laden with corn ; and the Dutch, who some years before 
had settled at Manhattan, visited them with kindly greet- 
ings. Thus dawned a brighter day. 



78 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP- During this year more than three thousand persons 

came from England, many of whom were men of influence, 

1035. wealth, and education. Prominent among these was Hugh 
Peters, an eloquent clergjTnan, and Harry Vane, a young 
man of much promise, the son and heir of a privy- council- 
lor — a fact of some importance in the eyes of the people. 
Vane, however, was a trire Repuhhcan. The people the 
next year unwisely elected him governor, in place of the 
dignified and benevolent Winthrop. 

The Puritans had experienced all the evils of religious 
intolerance, but unfortunately they had not themselves 
learned to be lenient. In the colony there was a young 
clergyman, Roger Williams, a man of ardent temperament, 
a clear reasoner, and very decided in his opinions. He 
came in conflict with the magistrates as he advanced sen- 
timents which they deemed subversive of all authority, — 
such as that obedience to the magistrate should not be en- 
forced — that the oath of allegiance should not be required : 
he also denounced the law that compelled all persons to 
attend worship, as an infringement of the rights of con- 
science ; he said the service of the church should be sup- 
ported by its members, and not by a tax upon all the peo- 
ple. His principles were in advance of the age in which 
he lived : one himdred and forty years after this time they 
were fully carried out. He contended that the charter 
from the king was invalid ; the Indians were the original 
proprietors. The people repelled the aspersion as unjust, 
because they had purchased their lands from the Indians, 
and acknowledged their rights by making treaties with 
them. The contest waxed warm. Williams accepted an 
invitation to Salem : the people of that place were admon- 
Oct., ished by the General Court to beware, lest they should 
encourage sedition. Upon this he retired to Plymouth, — 
there for two years he maintained his opinions unmo- 
lested. The people of the old colony had learned the les- 
son of toleration in their exile in Holland. 



WILLIAMS A WANDEREK. 79 

Williams was again invited to Salem, in open defiance CiHAP. 

of the authority of the General Court, the governing power 

of the colony. A committee of ministers held conferences 1635. 
and discussions with him, but without inducing him to 
retract. As the people of Salem sustained him, the Court 
admonished them, and pronounced the sentence of banish- 
ment against Williams. It was not the expression of 
opinions on the subject of conscience, or " soul-oppression," 
as he termed it, that alarmed the Court, but the expression 
of opinions which, if carried into effect, would, they affirmed, 
destroy all human government. 

In midwinter, Williams became a wanderer for con- 
science' sake. He went to the sons of the forest for that 
protection denied him by his Christian brethren. For four- 
teen weeks he wandered ; sometimes he received the simple 
hospitality of the natives ; sometimes Ms lodging-place was 
a hollow-tree. At last he was received into the cabin of 
Massasoit, at Mount Hope. He was the Indians' friend, 
and they loved him. He thought of settling at Seekonk, 
on Pawtucket river; that place being within the bounds of 
the Plymouth colony, Winslow, the governor, advised him 
to remove beyond their limits, lest it should create diffi- 
culty with the Bay colony. Williams received this advice 
in the sjiirit in which it was given, and removed to the 
country of the Narragansets. With five companions in a 
canoe, he went round to the west side of the arm of the 
bay. Landing at a beautiful spot, he found a spring of 
pure water. He resolved there to make a settlement. In 
thankftilness he called the place Providence. Tradition 2636. 
at this day points out the spring near which he built his 
cabin. Canonicus, the chief of the Narragansets, would 
not sell his land, but gave him a little domain " to enjoy 
forever." 

Williams here put in practice his theory of government. 
The land was given to him, and he distributed it to his 
followers. It was purely a government of the people. All 



80 HISTOEY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

^ xf' P'o^i^*^*^^ to ol^cy the voice of the majority in temporal 
things : in things spiritual, to obey only God. 

1637. Discussions were still rife in Massachusetts on all sub- 
jects. The men held meetings, in which they discussed 
matters pertaining to their Hberties ; edified each other 
with expositions of passages of Scripture, and criticized the 
weekly sermons of their ministers. As women were not 
allowed to speak in these meetings, Mrs. Anne Hutchin- 
son, a woman of great eloquence and talent, thought the 
rights of her sex were not properly respected ; she there- 
fore held meetings for their benefit at her own house. At 
these meetings, theological opinions were advocated, at 
variance with those of the ministers and magistrates. The 
Ijeoj^le became divided into two parties, and the affair soon 
took a jiolitical turn : on the one side were arrayed Win- 
throp and the older settlers, and with few exceptions, the 
ministers : on the other, Governor Vane and the adherents 
of Mrs. Hutchinson. She and her party were accustomed 
to speak of themselves as "being under a covenant of 
grace," and of their opponents as " being under a covenant 
of works." These indefinite phrases irritated her opponents 
exceedingly. They proclaimed her a desjiiser of aU spirit- 
ual authority ; " like Roger Williams, or worse ;" and 
darkly insinuated that she was a witch. The friends of 
Mrs. Hutchinson spoke of api^ealing to the king; this was 
downright treason in the eyes of their opponents, — their 
allegiance was given to the government of the colony, not 
to the king. A convention of ministers was held, they 
investigated her doctrines, and declared them unsound and 
injurious. At the ensuing election, Winthrop was chosen 
governor; and soon after Vane left for England. Mrs. 
Hutchinson and her followers were admonished, but with- 
out effect ; she, with her brother-in-law John Wheelwright, 

1638. and others, were exiled from the colony. How much wiser 
it would have been had the magistrates permitted her to 



THE DUTCH AT HAETFORD. 81 

exercise her " gift of discussing," even if she did say they chap 

were " under a covenant of works !" 

Eoger Williams invited the exiles to settle in his vicin- 1638. 
ity. By his influence they obtained from Miantonomoh, 
the nephew and prospective successor of Canonicus, a 
beautiful island, which they named the Isle of Ehodes. 
Here this little company of not more than twenty persons, 
formed a settlement. William Coddington, who had been 
a magistrate in the Bay Colony, was elected judge or ruler. 
They, too, covenanted with each other to obey the laws 
made by the majority, and to respect the rights of con- oct. 
science. Mrs. Hutchinson and her family remained here 
several years, and then removed farther west beyond New 
Haven, into the territory of the Dutch ; there she and all 
her family who were with her, with the exception of one 
daughter, who was taken captive, were murdered by the 
Indians. 1643. 

The Dutch from Manhattan explored the Connecticut jgj^ 
river six years before the landing of the Pilgrims at 
Plymouth. They erected a fortified trading-house near 
where Hartford now stands, but by ill-treating the In- 
dians they excited their hostility, and lost a trade that 
might have been valuable. 

Unable to occupy the territory, and unwilling to lose 
its advantages, they invited the Pilgrims to leave the 1627. 
sterile soil of Plymouth and remove to the fertile vales of 
the Connecticut, and live under their protection. The 
invitation was not accepted ; but as the Pilgrims were 
convinced that a change to more fertile lands was desira- 
ble, Governor Winslow went on an exploring tour to that 
region ; having found the soil as fertile as had been repre- i682. 
sented he promoted emigration. 

The Council of Plymouth had given a grant of Connec- 1630. 
ticut to the Earl of Warwick, who the next year trans- 
ferred his claim or patent to Lords Say and Brooke, John 
6 



82 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. Hamiiden, and others. The eastern boundary of this grant 

was the Narraganset river, and the western the Pacific 

1G33. ocean. When the Dutch learned of this grant, they pur- 
chased of the Indians the tract of land in the vicinity of 
Hartford, on which stood their trading-house, and pre- 
pared to defend their rights ; they erected a fort and 
mounted two cannons, to prevent the English from ascend- 
ing the river. In the latter part of the year Captain 
William Holmes, who was sent by Governor Winslow, 
arrived in a sloop, with a company, and prepared t(i make a 
settlement. The Dutch commandant threatened him with 
destruction if he should attempt to pass his fort. The 
undaunted Holmes passed by uninjured, and put up a 
fortified house at Windsor. He was not permitted to en- 
joy his place in peace ; the next year the Dutch made an 
effort to drive him away, but not succeeding they compro- 
mised the matter by relinquishing all claim to the valley. 
The parties agreed upon a dividing line, very nearly the 
same as that existing at this day between the States of 
New York and Connecticut. As the natural meadows on 
the Connecticut would furnish much more grass and hay 
for their cattle than the region nearer the sea-shore, many 
of the Pilgrims determined to remove thither. 
1635. The following autumn, a party of sixty persons, men, 

women, and children, undertook the desperate Avork of 
going through the woods and swamps from Plymouth to 
Connecticut. The journey was laborious and the suffer- 
ing great. When they arrived at the river the ground 
was covered with snow, the precursor of an unusually severe 
Nov. winter. A sloop from Plymouth, laden with provisions 
and their household furniture, failed to reach them on 
account of storms and ice. Their cattle all perished ; a 
little corn obtained from the Indians, and acorns, were their 
only food ; they barely escaped starvation. 

During this year three thousand persons came to Bos- 
ton from England. Among these was the Keverend 



JOURNKT THROUGH THE WILDERNESS. 83 

Thomas Hooker, who has been called " The Light of the chap. 

Western Churches." He was a man of great eloquence, 

and of humble i)iety ; his talents, of a high order, com- 1G35 
manded universal respect, while his modesty won him 
ardent friends. When he was silenced for non-conformity 
in England, great numbers of the clergy of the Established 
Church petitioned that he might be restored. But in 
those days to be a Non-Conformist was an iinpardonable 
offence. 

A portion of his congregation had emigrated the year 
before. When he arrived at Boston with the remainder 
of Ms flock, the colony was in a ferment — the Williams 
controversy was going on ; his people were wearied with 
the turmoil. John Haynes, who was a member of his 
congregation in England, and who had been Governor of 
Massachusetts, determined, with others, to remove to Con- 
necticut. In the spring, a company, under the lead of jjar. 
Hooker and Haynes, set out from the vicinity of Boston 1^36. 
for the pleasant valley. They numbered about one hun- 
dred persons, some of whom had been accustomed to the 
luxuries of life in England. With no guide but a com- 
pass they entered the untrodden wilderness ; toiled on foot 
over hills and valleys ; waded through swamps and forded 
streams. They subsisted principally on the milk of the 
kine that they drove before them, and which browsed on 
the tender leaves and grass. They moved but slowly. 
Their sick they carried on litters. The trustful spirit of 
piety and faith was present, and the silence of the forest 
was broken for the first time by Christian songs of 
praise. The man whose eloquence in his native land at- 
tracted crowds of the educated and refined, now, in the 
\vilderness, comforted and cherished the humble exiles for re- 
ligion's sake. The first of July brought an end to their la- 
borious journey. The greater part of the company remained 
at Hartford ; some went up the river and founded Spring- 
field ; some went down and joined those at Wethersfield. 



84 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. John Winthrop, the younger, who had been sent to 

England on business for the colony, returned as agent for 

1636. Lords Say and Brooke. He was directed to build a fort 
at the mouth of the Connecticut river ; it was named 

1635. Saybrooke. 

These settlements were now threatened with destruc- 
tion. The valley of the river and the region adjoining 
were more densely populated with Indians than any por- 
tion of New England. The powerful Pequods, the most 
warlike tribe in the country, numbered almost two thou- 
sand warriors, and ruled over a number of smaller tribes ; 
they inhabited the south-eastern part of Connecticut, 
and the shore of Long Island Sound to the mouth of 
Connecticut river, and west almost to the Hudson. 
The Mohegans, who dwelt in the north-eastern part of 
Connecticut, and the Narragansets, who lived around 
Narraganset bay, were the enemies of the Pequods and 
the friends of the English. The Pequods were jealous of 

1636. the English, not merely because they had settled near 
them, but because they were friendly to their enemies. 
These Pequods were charged with murdering, some years 
before, a Virginia trader, named Stone, with his crew, on 
the Connecticut river. Stone had the reputation of being 
intemperate and quarrelsome ; the Pequods said that he 
had attacked them and they killed him in self-defence. 
Captain Oldham, who was exploring the Connecticut, was 
murdered, with his crew, by the Indians living on Block 
Island. Captain John Endicott was sent to punish the 
murderers. Previous to this the Pequods had sent chiefs 
to Boston to make an alliance, and explain the difficulty 
in relation to the Virginia trader. They promised to de- 
liver up — so the magistrates understood them — the two 
men who had killed him. Endicott was ordered to call, 
on his way home from Block Island, at the Pequod town, 
and demand the promised satisfaction. The Indians, ac- 
cording to their custom, offered a ransom for the two men. 



THE PEQUOD WAR. 85 

but refused to give them uji to certain death. Endicott chap. 

had uo respect for their customs ; he must have blood for 

blood. Angry at their refusal, he burned two of their vil- 1636. 
lages and destroyed their corn. It was after this that the 
Pequods began to prowl about the settlements, and pick 
off stragglers, until they had, during the winter, killed 
more than thirty persons. 

The people in the Connecticut valley were in great 
alarm ; they knew not at what moment nor at what point 
the storm woirld burst. They called upon Massachusetts 
for aid ; only twenty men were sent under Captain Un- 
derbill. The whole community were so much absorbed in 
discussing theological questions with Mrs. Hutchinson that 
every other consideration was overlooked. 

Although the Pequods were more warlike and more 
numerous than any other tribe, they were not willing to 
enter upon the war single-handed. They sent a deputa- 
tion to Miantonomoh, the chief of the Narragansets, to 
enlist him against the common enemy. Governor Vane 
wrote to Eoger Williams, urging him, if possible, to pre- 
vent the alliance. Williams hastened to visit Miantono- 
moh ; he found the Pequod chiefs already there, urging 
their ancient enemy to join them and exterminate the 
white intruders — the Narragansets were wavering. At the 
risk of his life, Williams labored for three days to prevent 
these tribes uniting their forces against the colonists. The 
disappointed and angry Pequods threatened him with 
death. He not only prevented the alliance, but obtained 
the promise of the Narragansets to aid the English. Oct. 
Meantime, he sent a messenger to Boston to warn them of 
the impending danger. 

At length the infant settlements of Connecticut in jfay 
convention at Hartford declared war against the Pequods. if. 
The little army of not more than eighty men, including 
those sent from Massachusetts, assembled at Hartford : 
the pious Hooker exhorted them, and gave the staff of com- 



1637. 



86 HISTOEY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, mand to Captain John Mason, who had been a soldier in 

the Netherlands. At the request of the soldiers, part of 

1637. the night preceding the day they were to march was spent 
in prayer. Stone, one of their ministers, accompanied 
them as chaplain. They tloated down the river, and sailed 
round the coast to Narraganset bay, intending to go across 
the country, and attack the Pequods in their fort. As the 
latter had a very exalted opinion of their own prowess, they 
supposed the English were making their escaj^e, when they 
saw them sailing past the mouth of the Pequod, now the 
Thames river. The English landed at a harbor in the 
bay, and religiously observed the Sabbath. On the follow- 
May ing day they repaired to Canonicus, the old Narraganset 
chief, but his nephew Miantonomoh hesitated to join them; 
their numbers were so small, and the Pequods so numer- 
ous. Two hundred warriors, however, consented to accom- 
pany them, but as rather doubtful friends — and about 
seventy Mohegans joined them under their chief Uncas. 

Sassacus, the bold chief of the Peqiiods, was too confi- 
dent in the strength of his two forts, and in the bravery of 
his warriors to be cautious. His main fort, on the top of a 
high hill, was defended by posts driven in the ground, and 
deemed by him imjjregnable. He was yet to experience 
an attack from the English. In the night Mason, guided 
by an Indian deserter, approached the main fort, and halted 
within hearing of the triumphant sliouts of the Pe- 
quods, as they exulted over his supposed flight. Toward 
the break of day the English moved to the attack, while 
their Indian allies took a position to surround the fort. 
May The coming struggle was one of life or death to aU that 
" ' was dear to the little army: if they were defeated, all 
hope would be lost for their families on the Connecticut. 
The barking of a dog awoke the Indian sentinel ; he 
rushed into the fort with the cry. The English ! the English ! 
In a moment more, the English were through the pali- 
sades, and fighting hand to hand with the half awakened 



MASSACEE OF THE TEQUODS. 87 

warriors. Their numbers were overwhelming. "We must '^^^''■ 

hurn them," shouted Mason, as he applied a torch to the 

dry reeds which covered a wigwam — the flames spread with 1637. 
great rapidity. All was in confusion — as the despairing 
warriors vainly endeavored to extiugiiish the flames they 
became targets for the English marksmen. The Narra- 
gansets and Mohegans now joined in the conflict. More 
than six hundred of the Pequods perished, men, women, 
and children in one common ruin, merciless and unrelent- 
ing : only seven escaped. In an hour's time the work was 
done ; just then appeared the warriors, three hundred 
strong, from the other fort. They came forth expecting 
victory. When they perceived the ruin which had come 
upon their friends, they raved and stamped the ground in 
despair. Mason with a chosen band held them in check, 
till the remainder of the army had embarked on the boats, 
which had come round from Narraganset Bay. Then 
they hastened home, lest there should be a sudden attack 
upon the settlements. 

In a few days Captain Stoughton arrived from Massa- Juih". 
chusetts with one himdred men. The spirit of the Pequods 
was broken ; they fled to the west, and were pursued with 
untiring energy. Their villages were burnt — their corn- 
fields destroyed — their women and children slain without 
mercy. They took refuge in a swamp, and in desperation 
once more made a stand : again they were overwhelmed 
with great slaughter. Sassacus, their chief, escapied with a auo-. 
few followers, and made his way to the Mohawks, where 
he was afterward basely murdered by one of his own sub- 
jects. The remainder, old and young, surrendered to the 
victors, who disposed of them : some they gave as captives 
of war to their enemies, the Narragansets and Mohegans; 
and some they sent to the West Indies to be sold as slaves. 
Their territory was declared to be conquered, and their 
name to be blotted out. They were the foremost in that 
mournful procession in which the Indian race, from that 



88 HISTOEY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. Jay to this, have been moving on toward utter estermina- 
tion. This terrible example of the white man's power 

1637. sent a thrill of horror through the other tribes ; and for 
more than forty years, they dared not raise an arm in de- 
fence of the graves of their fathers. 

1638. The year following, John Davenport, a celebrated cler- 
gyman of London, arrived at Boston — with him came his 
friend Theojjliilus Eaton, a rich merchant. They and their 
associates had been exiled. They were cordially welcomed 
in Massachusetts, and urgently pressed to remain in that 
colony. They preferred to go into the wilderness rather 
than dwell in the midst of so much controversy. Eumor 
had told of the fine region found to the west by the pursu- 
ers of the Pequods. Eaton, with a few men, after explor- 
ing the coast of the Sound, spent the following winter at a 
desirable place in that region. As soon as spring opened, 
the company sailed from Boston ; in due time they arrived 
at the place where Eaton had spent the winter ; there, 
under a large tree, on the Sabbath after their arrival, 

April. Davenport preached his first sermon in the wilderness. A 
day of fasting and prayer for direction was observed, and 
then they formed a government, pledging themselves " to 
be governed in all things by the rules which the Scriptures 
held forth to them." Such was the settlement of New 
Haven, and thus was it to be governed. They purchased 
from the Indians the right to the land — Eaton was elected 
governor ; and to the end of his life, for more than tv^enty 
years, he was annually chosen to that office. 

After the war with the Pequods was ended, the people 
of the several settlements on the Connecticut held a con- 
vention at Hartford, and adopted a constitution and form 

1039. of government. The constitution was framed on liberal 
principles. They agreed to " maintain the purity of the 
gospel," and in civil affairs to be governed by the laws 
made under their constitution. No jurisdiction was admit- 
ted to belong to the King of England. Every one who 



THE SPIRIT OF THE COLONISTS. 89 

took the oath of allegiance to the commonwealth was cnti- chap. 

tied to vote. The governor and the other officers were to 

be chosen annually by ballot. The number of their repre- 1C39. 
sentatives to the General Assembly was to be apportioned 
to the towns, according to the number of inhabitants. For 
one hundred and fifty years this constitution remained in 
force. 

Sir Ferdinand Gorges and John Mason obtained, from 
their associates of the Council of Plymouth, a grant of 
land, lying partly in New Hampshire and partly in Maine. i622. 
This was named Laconia. A small number of emigrants 
were sent over, who settled at Portsmouth, Dover, and a 
few other places near the mouth of the Piscataqua. Wheel- 
wright, when banished from Massachusetts, settled with 
his fellow-exiles at Exeter. These settlements progressed 
very slowly. Only a few trading houses were scattered 
along the coast, and for many years they took no more 
permanent form. These settlers were not all Puritans, 
and were but httle united among themselves ; yet, they 
ajjplied and were annexed to the colony of Massachusetts. 1541. 
The General Court agreed not to insist that the freemen 
and deputies should be church members. 

In all their troubles the colonists of New England had 1639. 
never appealed to the mother country. They felt under 
no obligation to her ; she had driven them forth with a 
harsh hand to take care of themselves, or to perish in the 
wilderness. A spirit of independence pervaded their 
minds. They had the energy and industry to sustain 
themselves, and the courage to act in every emergency. 

Kumors had reached them that unprincipled men 
were planning to take away their charter ; that Arch- 
bishop Laud was meditating to establish over them the 
rule of the Church of England ; that a governor-general 
had been ajspointed, and was on his way. 

They would not recognize the right of the king even 



90 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

tJHAP. to investigate by what authority they held their charter, 
lest it might be inferred that they were in any respect de- 

1639. jjendent upon his will. For the same reason, when the 
Long Parliament professed to be their friend, they respect- 
fully declined any favors. When they feared an attempt 
to place over them a royal governor, and to change their 
colony into a royal province, they determined to defend 
their liberties, and poor as they were, raised six hundred 
pounds for fortifications. 

1640. Twenty thousand emigrants wei-e in New England, 
when the Puritans of the mother country, galled beyond 
endurance by the outrages committed on their rights and 
persons, commenced that fearful struggle, which, in its 
throes, overturned the throne, and brought the tyrannical 
Charles I. to the scaffold, and established the Common- 
wealth under Cromwell. During this period emigration 
almost entii-ely ceased. Many hastened home to England 
to engage in the conflict, among whom were the Kev. Hugh 
Peters and Harry Vane. They both perished on the 
scaffold after the Eestoration. 

The colonists, though unmolested by the home gov- 
ernment, were still surrounded with dangers. They were 
in the midst of hoStile Indians ; the French were threat- 
ening them in the North-East, and the Dutch in the West. 
For mutual safety and interest, Plymouth, Massachusetts, 
Connecticut, and New Haven, joined themselves together, 
1643. under the title of " The United Colonies of New Eng- 
land." Each was to be perfectly free in the management 
of its own affairs ; while those which properly belonged to 
the whole confederacy were to be intrusted to commis- 
sioners — two from each colony. Church-membership was 
the only qualification required of these commissioners. 
The expenses of the government were to bo assessed ac- 
cording to the number of inhabitants. The purity of the 
gospel was also to be preserved. This confederacy, the 
germ of " The United States of Ameeica," lasted forty 



THE COLLEGE AND THE PRESS. 91 

years. Rhode Island was not permitted to join it because chap. 

she would not acknowledge the jurisdiction of Plymouth, 

The two settlements on Narraganset bay now determined 16-13. 
to apply for an independent charter. When, for this pur- 
pose, Eoger Williams arrived in England, he found the 
country engaged in civil war ; the Puritans and Parlia- 
ment on the one side and Charles I. on the other. Wil- 
liams applied to his friend Harry Vane, and through his 
influence obtained from the Parliament a charter, under 
the title of " The Providence Plantations." Roger Wil- 
liams afterwards became a Baptist, and founded the first 10,44. 
church of that denomination in the United States. 

A very great number of men of education, ministers 
and laymen, emigrated to New England. There were of 
ministers alone more than eighty, some of whom were equal 
to any of their profession in tlieir native land. There was 
an unusual amount of general intelligence among all classes 
of the community. The Bible to them was US familiar 
as household words. In truth, it was the inteUigent alone 
who could appreciate the blessings for which they exiled 
themselves. They wished to secure for their children the 
benefits of education ; and as soon as jDOssible an effort 
was made to found a high school and ultimately a col- 
lege. Funds, with some books, were obtained. The place 
selected was Newtown, but as many of the men had been 
educated at Cambridge University, England, the name was 
changed to Cambridge. The Reverend John Harvard left 
the infant institution half his fortune and his library. 
Gratitude has embalmed his memory in its name. 1638. 

The next year a printing-press, the gift of some friends 11339. 
in Holland, was established. Its first work was to print 
a metrical version of the Psalms, which continvted for a lona: 
time to be used in the worship of the churches in New Eng- 
land. The following preamble explains the next law on the 
subject of education : — " It being a chief project of that old 
deluder Sathan to keep men from the knowledge of the 



92 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. Scriiitnres," it was determined that every child, rich and 

poor alike, should have the privilege of learning to read 

1647. its own language. It was enacted that every town or 
district having fifty householders should have a common 
school ; and that every town or district, having one hun- 
dred families, should have a grammar-school, taught by 
teachers competent to prepare youth for the college. All 
the New England colonies, with the exception of Khode 
Island, adopted the system of common schools. 

There had arisen among the Puritans in England a 
new sect, called in derision Quakers. An unfavorable re- 
port of their doctrines and doings had reached Massa- 
chusetts ; they were represented as denouncing all forms 
of worship and denying all civil authority. At length two 
1656. women of the dreaded sect appeared ; they were arrested 
and detained until their books could be examined, and the 
question was raised whether they themselves were not 
witches. Their books were burnt by the liangmau, and 
they sent back to England. Barbarous laws were made 
to deter Quakers from coming to the colony ; but they 
came, and were inhumanly treated and sent back. Then 
a law was passed that if a Quaker, after being banished, 
returned, he should be put to death. This the magis- 
trates fondly hoped would be effectual. We may judge 
their surprise when some of those who had been banished 
returned. They came to call the magistrates to repent- 
ance for their persecuting spirit. What was to be done ? 
Must the law be enforced or repealed ? It had been passed 
by only one majority. The vote was taken again ; one 
majority decided that the law must be obeyed. Four of 
the Quakers suffered the penalty of death. Severity did 
not accomplish the end in view; their brethren flocked to 
Massachusetts as if courting the honor of martyrdom. 
From the first the people had been opposed to the cruel 
law, and at their instance it was repealed. There was 
little apology for these harsh proceedings ; the magistrates 



ELIOT THE APOSTLE. 9^ 



could only say they acted in self-defence, in excluding ^^f^- 

those who taught doctrines that would interfere with the 

affairs of the colony. As soon as persecution ceased, the 1656. 
Quakers became quiet citizens ; many of them devoted 
themselves to teaching the Indians under the direction of 
the missionary Eliot. 

The Pui-Hans had long desired to carry the gospel to 1645. 
the Indians. John Eliot, the devout and benevolent 
pastor of tlie church in Koxbuiy, in addition to his pas- 
toral labors, gave them regular instruction in Christianity. 
He learned their language that he might preach to them ; 
he translated the Bible, and taught them to read in 
their own tongue its precious truths. This translation, 
which cost him years of labor, is now valued only as a 
literary curiosity ; it is a sealed book, no living man can 
read it. The language has passed away with the people 
who spoke it. 

Their kind instructor induced them to cease from 
roving, and to settle in villages ; he taught the men to 
cultivate the soil, and the women to spin and weave 
cloth, to supply their wants. He mingled with them as a 
brother ; and though he met with much opposition from 
their priests and chiefs, he led many of them in the right 
path. His disciples loved him ; his gentleness and good- 
ness won their hearts. 

As he lived so he died, laboring for the good of others. 
In his last days, when borne down by years and infirmi- 
ties, he said, " My memory, my utterance fails me, but I 
thank God my charity holds out still." Even up to the 
day of his death, which took place when he was eighty- 
six years of age, he continued to teach some jjoor negroes 
and a little bhnd boy. To Minister Walton, who came to 
see him, he said, " Brother, you are welcome, but retire to 
your study, and pray that I may be gone." Soon after, 
without a fear or a pang, the B23irit of this good " Apostle " 
passed away ; his last words were " Welcome joy ! " 



94 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. Eliot was not alone in his labors. The young, the 

winning, the pious Mayhew, an accomplished scholar, 

1645. thought it a privilege to toil for the souls of the poor In- 
dians who lived ujDon the islands in and around Massa- 
chusetts hay. He took passage for England to excite 
there an interest in his mission. He was never heard of 
more ; the ship in which he sailed went down'in unknown 
waters. His father, although at this time seventy years 
of age, was moved to take his place as a teacher of the 
Indians. There, for twenty-two years, he labored with 
the happiest results, till 'death withdrew him from the 
work. 

Within thirty years great changes had taken place in 
the colony. The people were prosperous : industry and 
self-denial had wrought wonders. 

Says an enthusiastic chronicler of the times : ' " The 
Lord hath been pleased to turn all the wigwams, huts, and 
hovels the EngHsh dwelt in at their iirst coming, into 
orderly, fair, and well-built houses, well furnished, many 
of them, with orchards filled with goodly fruit-trees and 
garden flowers." The people had numerous cattle and 
herds of sheep and swine, and plenty of poultry ; their 
fields produced an abundance of wheat, rye, oats, barley, 
and Indian corn ; and they could furnish fish, lumber, and 
many commodities for export. " This poor wilderness hath 
equalized England in food, and goes beyond it for the 
plenty of wine, and apples, pears, quince-tarts, instead of 
their former pumpkin pies." " Good white and wheaten 
bread is no dainty; the poorest person in the coimtry hath 
a house and land of his own, and bread of his own grow- 
ing — if not some cattle." 

These good things were not obtained without labor. 
Of the thirty-two trades carried on. the most successful 

' Johnson's " WondeiMvorking Providence of Zion's Saviour in New 
England," — as quoted by Hildreth. 



THE GROWTH OF BOSTON. 95 

were those of coopers, tanners, shoemakers, and ship- chap. 

builders. "Many fair ships and lesser vessels, barques, 

and ketches were built." Thus the chronicler anticipates 1655. 
the growth of Boston, which, " of a poor country village, 
is become like unto a small city; its buildings beautiful 
and large — some fairly set out with brick, tile, stone, and 
slate, orderly placed, with comely streets, whose continual 
enlargements presageth some sumptuous city." They 
had their soldiers, too, and a " very gallant horse-troop," 
each one of which had by him "powder, bidlets, and 
match." Their enemies were graciously warned that these 
soldiers " were all experienced in the deliverances of the 
Lord from the mouth of the lion and the paw of the bear." 



CHAPTEE XII. 

VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 

Slavery. — Massacre by the Indians. — Lord Baltimore. — The Settlement of 
Maryland. — Clayborne's Rebellion. — The Colony prosperous. — Tolera- 
tion. — Berkeley go%-ernor of Virginia ; Trade crippled ; Intolerance. — 
Indian War. — State of Society. — Aristocratic Assembly. — Complaints of 
Berkeley. — War with the Susquehaunahs. — Nathaniel Bacon. — Disturb- 
ances. — Obnoxious Assembly dissolved. — Evils corrected. — Bacon goes 
against the Indians. — Insincerity of Berkeley. — Jamestown captured 
and burned. — Death of Bacon. — Tyranny of Berkeley. — Aristocratic 
Assembly ; its ilUberal Acts. — Culpepper governor. — A Series of extor- 
tions. — Deplorable state of the Colony. — Difficulties in Maryland. 

CHAP. In August of this year slavery was introduced into the 
^^^' colonies. A Dutch shij) entered James river, having on 
1620 lioard twenty negroes for sale as slaves. Although the 
Dutch continued occasionally to bring Africans to the 
Virginia market, the number of slaves increased but slowly 
for a third of a century. The trade was discouraged, but 
not absolutely forbidden. 

The Indians were scattered throughout the country, in 
little villages, along the streams and in the most fertile 
districts. The planters, who wanted these places for their 
tobacco, took possession of them. Powhatan, the friend 
1618. of the Enghsh, was dead ; his brother and successor, Ope- 
chancanough, though professing friendship, was their 
enemy : his proud spirit burned within him at the wrongs 
of his people. Not daring to meet the Enghsh in ojien 
conflict, he planned secretly a terrible revenge ; even their 
entire extermination. At this time the number of colo- 



THE MASSACRE. 97 

nists was about four thousand ; that of the Indians within chap. 

sixty or a hundred miles of Jamestown, about five thou- 

sand. At noon on a certain day, the Indians were to fall 1622. 
upon every settlement, and murder all the whites. Mean- 
wliile, Opechancanough was warmer than ever in his pro- 
fessions; " sooner would the skies fall," said he, " than that 
my friendship for the English should cease." On the 
morning of the intended massacre, the Indians were in the 
houses and at the tables of the planters, and manifested 
more than their usual good wiU. On that morning, a con- 
verted Indian, named Chauco, brought the news of the plot 
to Jamestown. He had learned of it only the night before. 
Messengers were sent in every direction to warn the people, 
but it was too late to reach the distant settlements. 
Throughout the extent of one hundred and forty miles, the 
merciless savages attacked the settlers at the same moment; 
and on the twenty-second of March, there perished within 
one hour, three hundred and forty-seven persons, men. Mar. 
women, and children. Some of the settlements, though 
taken by surprise, repulsed their assailants, yet the effect 
was terrible. Of eighty plantations, aU but eight were 
laid waste, and the people hastened for safety to James- 
town. Desolation reigned over the whole colony; death 
had entered almost every family, and now famine and sick- 
ness prevailed. Within three months the four thousand 
colonists were reduced to twenty-five hundred ; the de- 
crease continued, and at the end of two years not more 
than two thousand remained of the nine thousand who had 
emigrated to Virginia. Their misfortunes excited much 
feeling in England. Assistance was sent ; the city of 
London did much to relieve their pressing wants, and pri- 
vate individuals were not backward in sending aid. Even 
King James's sympathies were enhsted ; he had never aided 
the colonists, but he now gave them some old muskets 
that had been thrown aside as useless. 

The planters did not fear the Indians in open conflict; 
7 



98 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

™AP. bvit it was necessary to guard against their secret attacks. 

In their turn, they formed plans to exterminate the 

1632. savages, or drive them far back into the wilderness. Expe- 
ditions for this purpose were sent against them from time 
to time, during the space of ten years. In time industry 
began to revivfe, and signs of prosperity once more were 
seen. ''''' ''^' 

The LonddB!' Company was now bankrupt ; endless 
discussions arose among the numerous stockholders. They 
became divided into two political parties, — one favored 
the king's prerogative ; the other, the liberty of the colo- 
nists. These questions were freely discussed at the meet- 
ings of the company, greatly to the annoyance of James. 
When he found it impossible to prevent the stockholders 
from expressing their opinions, he arbitrarily took away 
the charter of the company. To console the colonists, he 
announced that he had taken them under his own special 
protection. He began to frame laws for their government — 
laws no doubt in accordance with his peculiar notions of 
1625. Idngcraft ; but his labors and life were suddenly ended. 

Charles I., his son and successor, appeared to favor the 
colony : it conformed to the church of England, and he did 
not suspect its politics. More than this, he wished to 
ingratiate himself with the colonists, for he desired the 
monopoly of their tobacco trade. He even went so far as 
to recognize the House of Burgesses as a legislative body, 
and requested them to pass a law by which he alone could 
purchase the tobacco of the colony. The House, in a dig- 
nified and respectful manner, refused to comply with the 
1629. royal request, as it would be injurious to their trade. 
After the death of the liberal and high-minded Yeardley, 
the council elected Francis West governor. Charles, 
piqued at this independence, as well as the refusal to 
grant him the monopoly, appointed Sir John Harvey. 
Harvey had been a member of the colonial council, where 
he was the willing instrument of a faction that had almost 



SIR GEORGE CALVERT. 99 

mined the prospects of the colony. The enemy of the <^hap. 

rights of the people, he was exceedingly unpopular ; he '_ 

now took special care of his own interests and those of his 1G33. 
friends, by appointing them alone to office. 

The histories of Virginia and Maryland are intimately 
connected. As has been mentioned. Captain Smith was 
the first to explore the Chesapeake ; the trade with the 
Indians along its shores had now become profitable. 
Though the Potomac river was the northern boundary of 
Virginia, the colonists had extended their trade and influ- 
ence with the Indians on both sides, up to the head of the 
bay. William Clayborno, a bold and restless spirit, a sur- 
veyor of land by profession, was employed by the Governor 
of Virginia to explore the sources of the Chesapeake. A 
company was formed in England for the purpose of trading 
with the Indians, who lived on both sides of the bay. 
Clayborne, the agent of the company, obtained a license to 
trade, and estabHshed two stations, one on Kent Island, 
opposite Annapolis, and one at the mouth of the Susque- 
hannah. 

During the turmoil of religious parties and persecu- 
tions in England, Sir George Calvert, afterward Lord 
Baltimore, left the Protestant church, resigned his office 
of Secretary of State, and professed himself a Koman 
Catholic. This did not affect his standing with James or 
his son Charles. Calvert manifested a strong interest in 
the cause of colonization. He wished to found a colony to 
which Catholics might flee to avoid persecution. He first 
obtained permission to found a settlement on the cold and 
barren shores of Newfoundland ; that enterprise was soon ig22. 
abandoned. He turned to Virginia, a chme more genial ; 
there he was met by the oaths of supremacy and alle- 
giance, to which, as a good CathoHc, Lord Baltimore could 
not subscribe ; Virginia could never be a peaceful asylum 
for those of his faith. The region north of it attracted his 



100 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, attention, and he applied to King Charles for a jwrtion of 

that territory. 

1632. Charles gave him a grant of land, most of which is now 

included in the State of Maryland ; it was named after 
Henrietta Maria, the wife of the king. As a proprietary 
Lord Baltimore deserves all praise for his liberality. The 
colonists were to have a voice in making their own laws ; 
they were not to he taxed without their own consent. 
He was bold to repudiate intolerance, and politic to 
adopt a form of government which alone could insure 
success. He designed his colony to be an asylum for the 
Catholic, but the Protestant was invited to share it. Just 
as the charter was about to be issued he died. To his son 
Cecil, under the same title, the charter was continued ; to 
him belongs the honor of carrying into effect the inten- 
tions of his father. 

Feb., He deputed his brother, Leonard, to take charge of 

the emigrants, who, to the number of two hundred, after 
a protracted voyage, arrived safely in the Chesapeake. A 
tribe of Indians residing on the St. Mary's, a branch of the 
Potomac, were about to remove on account of their ene- 
mies the Susquehanuahs ; they sold to the infant colony 
their cultivated land and their village. The Indian 
women taught the strangers' wives to make bread of 
maize ; and soon the emigrants had corn-fields and 
gardens, and obtained abundance of game in the forest. 
A few days after their arrival, Governor Harvey, of Vir- 
ginia, paid them a friendly visit ; it was the desire of 
Charles that they should be welcomed by the sister colony. 
Friendly relations were established with the neighboring- 
Indians ; the colonists for a time obtained their necessary 
pro visions from Virginia, but as they were industrious, the 
fruitful earth soon rejDaid their labor. At the commence- 
ment of the second year, the freemen of the colony held 
their first legislative Assembly. 

Clayborne was the evU genius of Maryland. His license 



1632. 



EFFORTS TO CONVERT THE INDIANS. 101 

to trade with the Indians was made void by Lord Balti- cbap. 

•' XXI. 

more's charter. He attempted to excite a rebellion, but 



was overpowered and compelled to flee to Virginia. The 1635. 
Governor of Maryland demanded him as a fugitive from 
justice ; to evade the demand Harvey sent him to Eng- 
land to be tried. This ofiended the people of Virginia, 
who symjjathized with Clayborne ; to avenge him, they 
impeached Harvey himself, "and thrust him out of his 
government." The Assembly appointed commissioners 
to prosecute the charges against him in England. The 
commissioners met with no favor from the king : and soon, April, 
under a new appointment, the unj^opular Harvey came 
back as governor. 

Meanwhile peace and plenty continued to be the lot 
of Maryland. Every year the rights of the people were 
better understood ; they acknowledged their allegiance to 
England, and respected the rights of Lord Baltimore. 
Their lands produced an abundance of tobacco, and com- 
merce began to prosper. Efforts were now made to con- 
vert some of the neighboring Indians to Christianity. 
The priests established four stations among them, and not 
without effect. One chief, Tayac, with his wife, was bap- 
tized, he taking the name of Charles and she that of Mary. 
Soon after one hundred and thirty other converts received 
baptism, some of whom sent their children to receive a 
Christian education under the care of the priests. But, 
alas ! these efforts were as vain as the other attempts of 
the times to Christianize the poor natives. The same evil 
causes were here at work — wars and the influence of bad 
men. It is said these grateful tribes ever after remained 
friendly to those who endeavored to instruct them. 

The persevering Clayborne returned, to mar their i645. 
peace by another and more successful insurrection. The 
Governor of Maryland was now, in his turn, compelled to 
flee to Virginia. After two years of misrule, peace was 
again restored, and all the offenders were pardoned. 



102 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. As an interesting fact, it may be mentioned, that in 
this year Maryland passed a law of perfect toleration to 

1049. all Christian sects ; two years previous Rhode Island had 
granted toleration to all opinions. Infidel as well as 
Clirisiian. 

During the rule of Cromwell the government of Mary- 
land was very unsettled. The Assembly, finally, repu- 
diated both Cromwell and Baltimore, and proclaimed the 
authority of the people as sujareme. Scarcely was this ac- 
complished when the restoration of Charles II. took place. 

ICCO. Lord Baltimore made known to the king that his profes- 
sions of repubUcanism were made only to obtain the favor 
of Cromwell, and that really he was a good royahst. 
Charles immediately restored him his proprietary rights. 
Baltimore was not vindictive ; he proclaimed a general 
pardon, and for almost thirty years the colony enjoyed 
repose. 

Sir Wilham Berkeley, as successor to Harvey, was ap- 

1G42. pointed Governor of Virginia. The trade of the colony 
was crippled by severe restrictions ; as England claimed 
its trade for herself alone. Thus began a series of acts 
and infringements on commerce by the home government, 
which annoyed the people of the colonies, and interfered 
with their industry and commercial prosperity for more 
than one hundred and thirty years, when these grievances 

1776. were swept away by the Eevolution. The colony was now 
permitted for a time to take care of itself, Charles I. being 
engaged in a contest with his subjects at home. The Vir- 
ginians were stanch friends of the king, and the party in 
the mother country contending against him met with no 
favor from them. The Puritans who were living in Vir- 
ginia, being identified with republicanism, were looked 
upon with suspicion ; those of their number who would 
not conform to the ceremonies of the Church of England 
were banished. A majority of these passed over into 
Maryland. Thus it was, the Puritan would not permit 



THE LOYALTY OF VIEGINIA. 103 

the Episcopalian to come to New England, and the Epis- chap. 
copalian banished the Puritan from Virginia. '_ 

No peace was granted to the Indians. After a space 1644. 
of twenty-two years, they once more made an effort to free 
themselves from their enemies. The frontier settlements 
were suddenly attacked, and about three hundred persons 
killed. When resisted, the savages fled to the wilderness. 
They were pursued with great vigor, and after a contest 
of two years their power was completely broken. Opechan- 
canough, their aged chief, was taken captive, and soon 
after died in prison ; his proud spirit deeply wounded that 
he should be gazed at by his enemies. The next year a 
treaty was made, by which they relinquished forever the 
fertile valleys of their fathers, and with sorrowful hearts 
retired far into the wilderness. 

After the execution of Charles I., great numbers of the 
royalists, " good cavalier families," fled to Virginia, where 
they were welcomed as exiled patriots. She was the last 
of the colonies to acknowledge the authority of the Common- 
wealth. But when commissioners were sent, who granted 
the people all the civil rights and pri\'ileges they asked, 
they submitted. 

After the death of Cromwell, and before it was known 
who was to rule in England, the House of Burgesses re- 
solved, " that the supreme power will be resident in the 
Assembly." Then Berkeley was elected governor. In 
accepting office, he acknowledged the authority of the 
people's representatives, saying, " I am but the servant of 
the Assembly." We shall see how sincere was that decla- 
ration. 

When Charles II. was in exile, he was invited to come 
and be "king of Virginia;" from this incident, it has 
been called " The Old Dominion." This loyalty Charles 
after his restoration repaid, by basely taking away their 
privileges, and distributing their lands among his favorites. 

The society of Virginia was pecidiar. The first settle- 



104 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, ments were made under the protection of the nobility; this 
favored the growth of an aristocratic class of landholders. 



1660. There were two other classes — the negro, who was a slave 
for life, and the indented white man, sent from the mother 
country to serve a certain number of years. These wlaite 
servants were sometimes criminals, but oftener political 
offenders. The latter, when their term of servitude ex- 
pired, mingled with the people on an eriuality. 

The Assembly held their sessions once in two years ; 
their members were chosen by the people, and only for one 
session. The first Assembly held after the Eestoration, 
was composed of landholders. Berkeley now declared him- 
self governor, not because he was elected by the people, 
but because Charles when in exile had appointed him. 

1602. The Assembly went still further, and deprived the peo- 

ple of the jsrivilege of choosing their own legislators, by 
assuming to themselves the right to be perpetual. This 
Assembly remained thus in violation of law for fourteen 

1670. years. During this usurpation, all that the people had 
gained of civil rights for more than a third of a century, 
this aristocratic House of Burgesses swept away. The only 
right allowed them was that of petitioning their rulers for 
redress of grievances — but these petitions were disregarded. 
The Church of England was declared to be the religion of 
the State, and all were bound by law under penalties of 
fines and banishment, not only to attend its services, but 
to pay a tax to support it. Governor Berkeley complained 
of its ministers : " as of all other commodities, so of this — 
the worst are sent us, and we have few that we can boast 
of, since the persecutions in Cromwell's tyranny drove 
divers worthy men hither." The cause of education was 
neglected, and almost prohibited. The poor were pecu- 
liarly unfortunate — " out of towns," says a chronicler of 
the times, " every man instructs his children as best he 
can :" — no aid was afforded them by those in authority. 
Says the aristocratic Berkeley : " I thank God there are 



NATHANIEL BACON. 105 

no free schools nor printing ; and I hope we ■will not have chap. 

them these hundred years ! " Such was the language of 

a man who was Governor of Virginia for nearly forty years. 1639. 
The printing-press was estahhshed in Massachusetts ninety 1729. 
years before there was one in Virginia. 

The people of Maryland became involved in war with 
the Indians. A company of Virginians, under John Wash- 1075. 
ington, great-grandfather of George Washington, crossed 
over the Potomac to aid them. Six chiefs of the Susque- 
hannahs came to treat for peace, but the Virginians treach- 
erously murdered the whole company. For this evil deed 
the innocent were made to suffer. The Susquehannahs 
immediately passed over into Virginia to revenge their 
death, by killing ten persons for each chief. According to 
their belief, until this sacrifice was made, the souls of their 
chiefs could not be at rest in the spirit land. The people 
cried to the governor for i^roteotion, which he was slow to 
give ; they attributed his tardiness to his interest in the 
far-trade. They now asked jDennission to defend them- 
selves ; to invade the enemies' country, and drive them 
from their hiding-places ; this was also refused. During 
this delay, the Indians pursued their murderous work all 
along the frontiers. 

There was in the colony a young planter, not more than 
thirty years of age, a native of England ; a lawyer by pro- 
fession ; eloquent and winning in bis manners ; bold and 
determined in spirit ; a true patriot ; disliked by the gov- 
ernor, because he was a republican ; but dear to the peo- 
ple for the same reason : such was Nathaniel Bacon. To 
him, in their extremity, they turned. Those who had 
volunteered to go against the Indians, asked of the gover- 
nor a commission for Bacon to command them. Berkeley 
obstinately refused to grant it. He would not countenance 
such presumption on the part of the " common people." 
The murders continued ; the volunteers waited no longer 
on the tardy government, but set out under the command 



106 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, of Bacon to rejael the savages. The moment they Tvere 

gone, Berkeley proclaimed Bacon a traitor, and his soldiers 

1676. rebels, and gave orders for them to disperse. 
April. 

The j)opulous counties on the Bay began to show signs 
of insurrection. Their quarrel was not with the Indians, 
but with the acts and continued existence of the House of 
Burgesses. Bacon, meanwhile, had returned successful 
from his expedition. The haughty old governor was forced 
to yield ; the obnoxious Assembly was dissolved, and writs 
issued for the election of members for another, to which 
Bacon was returned triumphantly from Henrico county. 
This Assembly corrected the evils of the long one. The 
unjust taxes on the poor were removed ; the privilege of 
voting for their legislators was restored to the people, and 
many abuses in relation to the expenditure of the public 
money rectiiied. The House elected Bacon commander ol 
the army. These measures were very distasteful to Berke- 
ley and his advisers — he would not give them his sanction. 
Finally, however, he yielded to necessity ; and even went 
so far as to transmit to England, his own and the council's 
commendations of Bacon's loyalty and patriotism. 

The Indians still continued their attacks upon the 
settlements, and Bacon with a small force went to punish 
them : again the insincere Berkeley proclaimed him a 
traitor. Such treachery excited his indignation and that 
of the army. No confidence could be placed in the gov- 
ernor's word. " It vexes me to the heart," said the gal- 
lant patriot, " that while I am hunting the wolves which 
destroy our lambs, that I should myself be pursued like a 
savage — the whole country is witness to our peaceable 
behavior ; but those in authority, how have they obtained 
their estates .^ Have they not devoured the common trea- 
sury ? What schools of learning have they promoted 7 " 
Such were the questions asked, and such were the senti- 
ments that stirred the hearts of the people. They must 



JAMKSTOWN BURNED. 107 

have their rights restored : wives urged their husbands to ™^ 
contend for their liberties. 

Berkeley with a few royalist followers and advisers, went 1676. 
to the eastern shore of the bay. There by promises of plun- 
der, he collected a rabble of sailors belonging to some Eng- 
lish vessels, and a company of vagabond Indians. When the 
rumor of the governor's intentions spread throughout the 
land, the people with one accord met in convention at the 
Middle Plantation, now Williamsburg, where they deliber- — 
ated all day, even until midnight. They decided it was 
their duty to defend themselves from the tyranny of the 
governor. They adjoiirned, however, and went to their 
homes, determined to be guided in their conduct by the 
course he should pursue. They were not long in suspense, 
for Berkeley crossed over with five ships to Jamestown, to 
put down what he was pleased to call a rebellion. In a gept. 
very short time the little army so successful against the 
Indians, was gathered once more under the same leader. 
The coniiict was short ; Berkeley's cowardly rabble broke 
and fled ; deserting Jamestown, they went on board their 
ships and dropped down the river. The victors entered 
the deserted town. A council was held as to what was to 
be done. Should they leave it as a place of defence for 
their enemies ? It was deemed necessary to burn it. 
Drummond and Lawrence, men prominent in the jjopular 
movement, applied the torch to their own dwelHngs; the 
example was followed by others, and, in a few hours, the 
first town founded by Englishmen on this continent was in 
ruins. A crumbling church-tower is all that now remains 
to mark the site of old Jamestown. 

The good results of this struggle were doomed to be 
lost. Bacon suddenly fell iU of a violent fever, which 
terminated his life in a few days. He was called a traitor Oct. 
and a rebel by Berkeley and his royalist party, as was 
Washington by the same party one hundred years after- 
ward. 



108 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. The people were now without a leader — without any 
one to plead their cause./ Berkeley played the tyrant, 

1676. ravaged the country and confiscated the property of the 
patriots. He caused to perish on the scaflFold more than 
twenty of the best men of Virginia. One or two incidents 
may serve to exhibit his spirit. When Drummond (who 
is represented as a " sober, Scotch gentleman, of good 
repute ") was brought into his presence, " You are very 
welcome," said he, bowing at the same time, with mock 
civility ; " I am more glad to see you than any man in 
Virginia ; you shall be hanged in half an hour ! " He 
derided, in vulgar terms, a young wife who came to plead 
for her husband, to take the blame of his offence upon 
herself, and to offer her own life for his. 

If any one dared speak disrespectfully of Berkeley 
or his rule, he was publicly whipped. The end came at 
last ; Berkeley left the country, and the people celebrated 
his departure with bonfires and rejoicings. When he 
arrived in England he found that public opinion severely 
condemned his conduct ; and, what was more wounding 
to his pride, even Charles, to serve whom he had stained 
his soul with innocent blood, exclaimed, " That old fool 
has taken away more lives in that naked land than I for 
the death of my father ! " The names and characters of 
Bacon and his adherents were vilified, and for a century 
these slanders were not disproved ; the truth was not per- 
mitted to be published. The facts, as now known, prove 
that the men who thus opposed the tyranny of Berkeley 
were not rebels and traitors, but worthy to be num- 
bered among the patriots of the land. 

1677. The first Assembly held after this unsuccessful strug- 
gle was devoted to the interests of the aristocracy. All 
the liberal laws passed by the preceding one were re- 
pealed ; henceforth only freeholders coidd vote for mem- 
bers of the House of Burgesses. The poor man was as 



CULPEPPER AND EFFINGHAM. 109 



heavily taxed as the rich, but unless he was a landholder ™'^f- 
he had no vote. 

The profligate Charles gave Virginia to two of his 1678. 
favorites — Arlington and Culpepper ; the latter soon after 
purchased the claim of the former. The king appointed Cul- 
pepper governor for life. He came authorized to heal diifer- 
ences between the people and the government, but he used 1680. 
the power for his own interest alone ; he valued Virginia 
only in proportion to the money his rapacity could extort ; 
even the soldiers, sent to maintain his authority, he de- 
frauded of their wages. When he had secured to himself 
the highest possible revenue, he sailed for England. The 
condition of the Virginians was wretched in the extreme ; 
the rewards of their industry went to their rapacious rulers, 
and they, goaded to desperation, were on the point of 
rebellion. 

Kumors of these discontents reached England, and the 
truant governor reluctantly left his pleasures to visit his 
domain. Having the authority of the king, Culpepper 1C82. 
caused several men of influence to be hanged as traitors. 
The people who owned farms in the territory, given him 
by royal grant, he now compelled to lose their estates, or 
compromise by paying money. Charles had now another 
favorite to provide for ; Culpepper was removed, and 1684. 
Effingham appointed. This change was even for the 
worse ; Eflingham was more needy and more avaricious. 

On the accession of James II. what is known in his- 
tory as Monmouth's Kebellion occurred. After its sup- 1685. 
pression, multitudes of those implicated in it were sent to 
Virginia and Maryland to be sold as servants for a term 
of ten years. Many of these were men of education and 
of good families. The House of Burgesses, to their honor 
be it said, declared these poor men free, though the cruel 
James had forbidden the exercise of such lenity. 

So little were the claims of humanity respected at this 
time in the West of England, that it was a common occur- 



110 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, rence to kidnap persons of the poorer sort, and send them 
to the colonies to be sold as servants for a term of years. 

1685. These were principally brought to Virginia and Mary- 
land, as there the planters required many laborers. The 
trade was profitable, more so than the African slave 
trade. 

1688. After the accession of William and Mary an effort was 

made to establish a college in Virginia, " to educate a do- 
mestic succession of Church of England ministers," as well 
as to teach the children of the Indians. The celebrated 
Kobert Boyle made a large donation, and the king gave, 
in addition to three other grants, outstanding quit-rents, 
valued at about £2,000. Such was the foundation of the 

1091. college of William and Mary. 

The Kev. James Blair, said to be the first commissary 
sent to the colonies by the Bishop of London, " to supply 
/ the office and jurisdiction of the bishop in the out-places 
^ of the diocese," was its president for fifty years. 

Though William was thus moderately liberal, he was 
by no means the representative of the true feeling of his 
ministry ; they even looked upon this pittance as uncalled 
for. Blair, the pious and energetic Scotchman, once urged 
upon Seymour, the attorney-general, the importance of 
establishing schools to educate ministers of the gospel. 
" Consider, sir," said he, " that the people of Virginia 
have souls to save." He was answered by a profane im- 
precation upon their souls, and told to "make tobacco." 
This pithy rebuft' indicated the spirit and general policy 
of the home government ; it valued the colonies only as a 
source of wealth. 

For many years voluntary emigration to Virginia almost 
ceased. There were no inducements, no encouragement 
to industry, all commerce was restricted. The planters 
were at the mercy of the English trader ; he alone was 
permitted to buy their tobacco and to sell them merchan- 
dise. The whole provmce was given over to the tender 



TROUBLES IN MARYLAND. Hi 

mercies of royal favorites and extortioners, while the chap. 

. . XII. 

printing-press, that dread of tyrants, was still forbidden. 

How dearly did loyal Virginia j^ay for the honor of being 1685. 
named the " Old Dominion ! " 

The struggles of the people of Virginia under Bacon 
and others, had an effect on the people of Maryland. At 
the death of Lord Baltimore, his son and heir assumed the 1675. 
government, and ruled with justice till another revolution 
in England brought a change. The deputy-governor hesi- 1688. 
tated to acknowledge William and Mary. This was seized 
upon by some restless spirits to excite discontent in the 
minds of the people. Among other absurd stories, it was said 
that the Catholics, who were few in number, were about to in- 
vite the Indians to aid them in massacring the Protestants. 
At this time the Jesuits had excited the Indians of New 
England and Canada against the New England colonies. 
This gave a shadow of probability to the charge. Under 
the lead of some persons, who professed to be very zealous 
Protestants, the deputy-governor was seized, and a con- 
vention called, which deposed Lord Baltimore, and pro- 
claimed the people the true sovereign. Two years after, 1691. 
King William, taking them at their word, imjustly de- 
prived Lord Baltimore of his property, and made the colony 
a royal province. The people now suffered the penalty 
for ill treating their benevolent j)roprietary. The king 
placed over them a royal governor ; changed their laws for 
the worse ; established the Church of England, and taxed 
them to maintain it ; did not promote education, but pro- 
hibited printing ; discouraged their domestic manufac- 
tures ; and finally disfranchised the Catholics, who had 
laid the foundation of the colony sixty years before. The 
rights of Lord Baltimore were afterward restored to his 
infant child, and the original form of government was 1716. 
established. No colony experienced so many vicissitudes 
as Maryland. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

COLONIZATION OF NEW YORK. 

Hudson's DiscoTeries. — Indian Traffic. — Fort on the Isle of Manhattan. — 
Walloons the first Settlers. — Peter Minuits. — The Patroons. — ^Van 
Twiller Governor ; his Misrule. — Succeeded by Kieft. — Difficulties with 
the Indians. — They seek Protection ; their Massacre. — Peace con- 
cluded. — Stuyvesant Governor. — The Swedish Settlement on the Dela- 
ware. — Pavonia. — Threatening Rumors. — New Netherland surrendered 
to England. — New Jersey sold by the Duke of York. — The Influence of 
the Dutch. 

CHAP. When there were high hopes of discovering a north-west 
1 passage to India, Henry Hudson was sent in search of it 



1609. by a company of London merchants. He was unsuccess- 
ful ; yet his enthusiasm was not diminished by his failure. 
He requested to be again sent on the same errand, but the 
merchants were unwilling to incur further exjiense. He then 
applied to the Dutch East India Company ; the directors of 
which, at Amsterdam, famished him with a ship, the Half- 
Moon, with liberty to exercise his own judgment in the pro- 
secution of the enterprise. He first sailed to the north-east, 
away beyond the Capes of Norway, as far as the ice would 
permit. He saw that an eifort in that direction would be 
fruitless. He turned to the west, crossed the Atlantic, 
and coasted along the continent till he foimd himself op- 
posite the Capes of Virginia ; then turning to the north 
he entered " a great bay with rivers," since known as the 
Delaware ; still further north he passed through a narrow 
channel, and found himself in a beautiful bay. Here he 



A CHANGE WROUGHT. 113 

remained some days. The natives, " clothed in mantles ^!^^- 

of feathers and robes of fur/' visited his ship. Their '_ 

astonishment was great ; they thought it was the canoe 1609. 
of the Great Spirit, and the white faces, so unlike them- 
selves, were his servants. Hudson explored the bay, and 
noticed a large stream iiowing from the north ; this, thought 
he, leads to the Eastern Seas. That stream, called by 
some of the native tribes the Cahohatatea, or Kiver of 
Mountains, and by others the Shatemuc, he explored for 
one hundred and fifty miles ; it did not lead to the 
Eastern Seas, yet that river has immortalized the name 
of Henry Hudson. 

What a change has come over the " Kiver of Moun- 
tains " since he threaded his way up its stream two hun- 
dred and fifty years ago ! It has become the highway to 
the great inland seas of a continent, upon whose bosoms 
float the fruits of the industry of millions ; and the island 
at its mouth the heart of a nation's commerce, whose every 
throb is felt throughout that nation's length and breadth. 
From the highest church-steeple,' on this Isle of Man- 
hattan, the eye takes in a horizon containing a population 
one-third as great as that of the thirteen colonies at the 
time of the Declaration of Independence. There are other 
changes which the philanthropist loves to contemplate. 
Here are seen the humanizing influences of Christianity, 
of civiUzation, of intelligence, and of industry, embodied 
in institutions of learning, of science, and of benevo- 
lence, that pour forth their charities and blessings, not 
alone for this land but for others. 

The coincidence is striking, that, nearly at the same 
time, the representatives of three nations were penetrating 
the wilderness and approaching each other. Champlain, 
on behalf of France, was exi^loring the northern part of 
New York ; John Smith, one of the pioneers of English 

' Trinity. 



114 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, colonization, was pu.shing liis discoveries up to the head 
'_ waters of the Chesapeake, wliile the Half-Moon was slowly 



1610. sounding her way up the Hudson. 

Hudson arrived safely in England, hut he was not per- 
mitted by the government to continue in the service of the 
Dutch, lest they should derive advantage in trade from his 
discoveries. However, he found means to transmit to his 
employers at Amsterdam, an accoimt of his voyage. Once 
more he sailed under the patronage of some English mer- 
chants. He passed through the straits into the bay known 
by his name; groped among a multitude of islands till late 
in the season, and then determined to winter there, and in 
the spring continue his search for the wished-for passage. 
When spring came his provisions were nearly exhausted ; 
it was impossible to prosecute his design. With tears of 
disappointment he gave orders to turn the prow of his ves- 
sel homeward. A day or two afterward his crew mutinied. 
They seized him, put him, with his son and seven seamen, 
four of whom were ill, on board the shallop, and inhumanly 
left them to perish. " The gloomy waste of waters which 
bears his name, is his tomb and his nioniunent." 

Hudson, in his communication to his employers, 
described the extensive region he had discovered as well 
watered by rivers, and as lying around bays and inlets ; as 
covered with forests abounding in the finest timber for 
ship-building ; and as " a land as beautiful as ever man 
trod upon." The numerous tribes of Indians who met 
him in friendship, and the multitudes of beaver and otter, 
gave indication also of a profitable trade. 

The next year a ship was sent to trade ; the traffic was 
profitable, and was still further prosecuted. In a few 
years there were forts or trading houses on the river, as far 
up as Fort Orange, since Albany. A "rude fort at the 
1614. lower end of Manhattan island was the germ of the present 
city of New York. The Dutch during this time were 



EMIGRATION ENCOURAGED. 115 

busy exploring the waters from the Delaware to Cape ^^,f^- 

Cod. They were as yet but a company of traders ; no '_ 

emigrants had left Holland with the intention of making 1614. 
a permanent settlement. 

A company was formed, under the title of the Dutch 1621. 
West India Company ; an association for the purpose of 
trade only. They took possession of the territory as tem- 
porary occupants ; if they grew rich they were indiiferent 
as to other matters ; they had no promise of protection 
from Holland, and as a matter of policy they were peace- 
ful. The States-General granted them the monopoly of 
trade from Cape May to Nova Scotia, and named the 
entire territory New Netherland. The claims of the Eng- 
lish, French, and Dutch thus overlapped, each other, and 
led to " territorial disputes, national rivalries, religious 
antipathies, and all the petty hatreds and jealousies of 
trade." 

About thirty families, Walloons or French Protestants, 
who had fled to Holland to avoid persecution, were the 
first to emigrate with the intention of remaining. Some 
of these settled in the vicinity of what is now the Navy 
Yard in Brooklyn, others went up the river to Fort ^^25. 
Orange. 

The central position of the island of Manhattan ob- 
tained for it the honor of being chosen as the residence of 
the agent for the company. Peter Minuits was appointed 
such, under the title of governor, and the few cottages at 
the south end of the island were dignified with the name of 
New Amsterdam. The island itself belonged exclusively 
to the company, and was purchased from the Indians for 
about twenty-four dollars. Effort was now made to found 
a State. Every person who should emigrate had the privi- 
lege of owning as much land as he could jjroperly culti- 
vate, provided it was not on lands especially claimed by 
the company. To encourage emigration, it was ordered 
that any member of the company who in four years should 



116 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, induce fifty persons to settle anywhere in New Nether- 

land, except on the island of Manhattan, should he recog- 

1625. nised as " Patroon," or " Lord of the Manor." Under 
this arrangement "Patroons" could purchase a tract of 
land sixteen miles long by eight in width. They secured 
to themselves, by purchase from the Indians, the most 
valuable lands and places for trade. The less rich were 
by necessity compelled to become tenants of the Patroons. 
The people, thus deprived of that independence which is 
essential to the progress of any community, took but little 
interest in cultivating the soil, or in improving the 
country. 

The company, for the sake of gain, determined, even at 
the expense of the prosperity of the colonists, to make 
New Amsterdam the centre of the trade of New Nether- 
land. Under the penalty of banishment the people were 
forbidden to manufacture the most common fabrics for 
clothing. No provision was made for the education of the 
young, or the preaching of the gospel ; although it was 
enjoined upon the Patroons to provide " a minister and a 
schoolmaster," or at least a " comforter of the sick,", whose 
duty it should be to read to the people texts of Scripture 
and the creeds. The company also agreed, if the specu- 
lation should prove profitable, to furnish the Patroons with 
African slaves. 

As Hudson had discovered Delaware bay and river, the 
Dutch claimed the territory. Samuel Godyn purchased 
from the Indians all their lands from Cape Henlopen to 
1C29. the mouth of the Delaware river. Two years after this 
thirty colonists arrived, fully prepared to found a settle- 
ment. When De Vries, who was to be Patroon and com- 
mander, came the next year, he found not a vestige of 
the settlement ; all had perished by the hands of the 
savages. 

After the resignation of Minuits, Walter Van Twiller, 
through the " influence of kinsmen and friends," was ap- 



WILLIAM KIEFT GOVERNOR. 117 

pointed governor. He proved himself unfitted for tlie ^^.f.^- 

station. As a clerk, he was acquainted with the mere 

routine of business, but ignorant of human natm-e ; as con- 1633. 
ceited as he was deficient in judgment and prudence, 
he faUed to secure the respect of those he governed. 
In his zeal for the interests of his employers, he neglected 
the rights of the people, and was so inconsistent in the 
management of pubhc affairs that Dominie Bogardus sent 
him a letter of severe reproof, threatening to give him 
"such a shake from the pulpit on the following Sunday 1638. 
as would make him shudder." 

The inefficient Van TwiUer was succeeded by WiUiam 
Kieft. Though he had not the same defects as Van 
TwiUer, his appointment was a most unfortunate event for 
the colony. A bankrupt in HoUand, his portrait was 
affixed to the gallows ; an evidence of the estimation in 
which his character was held. Avaricious and unscrupu- 
lous, so arbitrary in his measures that during his rule the 
colony was in a continual turmoil, he quarrelled with the 
Swedes on the Delaware, had difficulties with the Eng- 
lish in New England, made the Indians his enemies, and 
had scarcely a friend in his own colony. 

The Dutch were on friendly terms with the Indians 
during the rule of Van TwiUer. It was forbidden by law 
to sell them fire-arms ; but the traders up the river, indif- 
ferent to the interests of the settlers, sold them guns to 
such an extent, that at one time more than four hundred 
of the Mohawks, or Iroquois, were armed with muskets. 
By this means these terrible marauders and despots of the 
wUderness were rendered more haughty and dangerous. 
They paid enormous prices for guns, that they might be 
able to meet their enemies the Canadian Indians, who 
were supplied with fire-arms by the French. Though 
the traders did not sell guns to the tribes Uving near New 
Amsterdam and on the river, yet they sold them rum. 

Kieft pretended that the company had ordered him to 



118 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, levy an annual tribute upon the river Indians — tlie Mo- 

hegans and other clans of the Algonquin race. They re- 

1638. fused to pay any tribute, saying he " was a shabby fellow 
to come and live on their lands without being invited, and 
then want to take away their corn for nothing." Such 
injustice, with the partiality shown to their enemies, the 
Mohawks, gradually alienated their feelings of friendship 
for the Dutch. \ 

An act of Kieft awoke the slumbering anger of the 
savages. The Earitans, a tribe living on the river which 
bears their name, were accused of stealing hogs, which 
had been taken by some Dutch traders. Kieft did not 
inquire into the truth of the charge, but sent soldiers to 
punish them, who destroyed their corn and killed some of 
their number. De Vries, who, in the mean time, had 
planted a settlement on Staten Island, was himself a 
friend of the Indians. The Earitans attacked tliis settle- 
1C41. ment and killed four men. The people now urged the 
governor to conciliate the savages, but without effect. 
Twenty years before a chieftain had been killed by a Dutch 
hunter in the presence of his nephew, then a little boy ; 
that boy, now a man, according to their custom, avenged 
the death of his uncle by murdering an innocent Dutch- 
man. Kieft demanded that the young man should be 
given up to him, to be punished as a murderer. The 
tribe would not comply with the demand, but oifered to 
pay the price of blood. The violent governor refused any 
such compromise. 
1G42. With his permission a meeting of the heads of fami- 

lies was called. They chose twelve of their number to 
investigate the afiiiirs of the colony. They passed very 
soon from the Indian difficulties to other abuses ; even to 
the despotic actions of the governor himself As the 
" twelve men " refused to be controlled by Kieft, but per- 
severed in expressing their opinions of his conduct, he 



MASSACRE OF THE INDIANS. 119 

dissolved the Assembly. Thus ended the first representa- chap. 
tive Assembly in New Netberland. L 

Nearly aU the difficulties with the Indians may be 1642. 
traced to some injustice practised upon them by the 
whites. An instance of this kind now occurred which led 
to direful results. A Dutchman sold a young Indian, the 
son of a chief, brandy, and when he was intoxicated, 
cheated and drove him away. The Indian, raging with 
drink, and maddened by the treatment he had received, 
went to his home, obtained his bow and arrows, returned 
and shot the Dutchman dead. The chiefs of the murder- 
er's tribe hastened to the governor to explain the matter, 
and to pay the price of blood ; they wished for peace ; but 
the governor was inexorable. He demanded the murderer ; 
but he had fled to a neighboring tribe. " It is your own 
fault ! " exclaimed the indignant cliiefs ; " why do you 
seU brandy to our young men "? it makes them crazy ; — 
your own people get drunk, and fight with knives." 

Just at this time came a company of eighty Mohawks, 
all armed with muskets, to demand tribute of the enfee- 
bled Eiver Tribes. The latter fled to the Dutch for pro- 
tection. Now is the time, urged the people, to obtain 
forever the friendship of the Indians living around us, by 
rescuing them from the rapacious Mohawks. Now is the 
time, thought the stubborn and cruel Kieft, to extermi- 
nate those who have fled to me for safety. 

" If you murder these poor creatures who have put 
themselves under your protection, you will involve the 
whole colony in ruin, and their blood, and the blood of 
your own people, wiU be required at your hands ! " urged 
the kind-hearted De Vries. The admonition was un- 
heeded. 

The unsuspecting victims of this scheme of treachery 
and barbarous cruelty were with the tribe of Hacken- 
sacks, just beyond Hoboken. About the hour of mid- Feb.. 
night the soldiers from the fort, and some freebooters from ^^^^- 



120 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, the ships in the harbor, passed over the river. Soon were 

heard the shrieks of the dying Indians ; — the carnage 

1643. continued, the poor victims ran to the river, to pass over 
to their supposed friends in New Amsterdam. But they 
were driven into the water ; the mother, who rushed to 
save her drowning child, was pushed in, that both might 
perish in tlie freezing flood. These were not the only 
victims. Another company of Indians, trusting to the 
Dutch for protection, were encamped on the island, but a 
short distance from the fort. They were nearly all mur- 
dered in the same manner. In the morning the returning 
soldiers received the congratulations of Kieft. When the 
people learned of the massacre they were filkd with hor- 
ror at its atrocity, and exj)ressed their detestatfttti of its 
author, and their fears that all the Indians in their neigh- 
borhood would become their deadly enemies. The guilty 
Kieft cowered before the storm ; it woidd have been well 
if the only effects of his acts had been the reproaches of 
the people. 

When it became known that it was not their enemies 
the Mohawks, but their pretended friends the Dutch, who 
had wantonly killed their countrymen, the rage of the 
Kiver Tribes knew no bounds. They rose as one man to 
take revenge. Every nook and corner, every swamp and 
thicket, became an ambush for the enraged savages. The 
settlements itp the river were destroyed. On Long Island, 
on Staten Island, the retribution fell ; all around Man- 
hattan the smoke of burning dwellings arose to heaven. 
The people at a distance from the fort were either mur- 
dered or taken captive, especially the women and chil- 
dren. All who could deserted their homes, and sought 
safety in the fort at Manhattan ; many of whom after- 
ward left for Holland. 

A pleasing incident is related of Indian gratitude. 
De Vries had, on that fearful night, rescued an Indian 
and his wife from death. When his settlement on Staten 



A TEMPOEARY TRUCE. 121 

Island was attacked, this Indian hastened to his country- chm>. 

men who were besieging the people in the block-house, 

and told them how he and his wife had been rescued. The 1643. 
besiegers immediately told the people they would molest 
them no more ; and they kept their word. 

A temporary trace was made at Eockaway on Long Sept. 
Island. The chiefs of a number of tribes agreed to meet 
the messengers of the Dutch, and treat of peace. De 
Vrics, whom the Indians knew to be their friend, went 
with two others to the interview. When the conference 
was opened one of the chiefs arose, having in his hand a 
munber of little sticks; taking one, he commenced : "When 
you first came to our shores you wanted food ; we gave 
you our beans and our corn, and now you murder our 
people." He took another stick : " The men whom your 
first ships left to trade, we guarded and fed ; we gave 
them our daughters for wives ; some of those whom you 
murdered were of your own blood." Many sticks still re- 
mained, but the envoys did not wish to hear a further re- 
cital of wrongs. They proposed that they should both 
forget the past, and now make peace forever. Peace was 
made. It was not satisfactory to the young warriors ; they 
thought "the bloody men," as they now called the 
Dutch, had not paid the full price of the lives they had 
taken ; and war broke forth again. Now the leader of 
the Dutch was Captain John Underbill, who had had ex- 
perience in the Pequod war in New England. For two 
years the Indians were hunted from swamp to swamp, 
through winter and summer ; yet they were not sub- 
dued. They lay in ambush round the settlements, and 
picked off the husbandman from his labor, and carried 
into captivity his wife and children. There was no security 
from the midnight attack; scarcely any corn was planted; 
famine and utter ruin stared the colony in the face. 

Sixteen hundred of the Indians had been killed, and the 
number of white jDeople was so much reduced, that, besides 



122 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, traders, there were not more than one hundred persons on 
the Isle of Manhattan. What a ruin had been wrought 



1643. by the wicked jjerverseness of one man ! 

At length both jDarties became weary of war. The 
chieftains of the tribes around New Amsterdam, and, as 
mediators, a dejuitation from their ancient enemies the 
Mohawks, met the deputies of the Dutch beneath the 
open sky, on the place now known as the Battery, in New 
York city, and there concluded a peace. 

1645. Thanksgivings burst forth from the people at the 

prospect of returning safety. There was no consolation 
for Kieft ; he was justly charged by them with being the 
cause of all their misfortunes. The company censured 
him, and disclaimed his barbarous conduct. He was 
without a friend in the colony. After two years, with his 
ill-gotten gains, he sailed for his native land. The vessel 
was wrecked on the coast of Wales, and, with many others, 

164G. he was lost. 

In the midst of all these difficulties there were those 
who labored to instruct the poor heathen Indians of New 
Netherland. Several years before the missionary Eliot 
commenced his labors with the tribes near Boston, Mega- 
polensis, the Dutch clergyman at Fort Orange, endeavored 
to teach the Mohawks the truths of the gospel. He strove 
to learn their language, that he might " speak and preach 
to them fluently," but without much success ; their lan- 
guage was, as he expressed it, so "heavy." The grave 
warriors would listen respectfully when told to renounce 
certain sins, but they would immediately ask why white 
men committed the same. EiForts were made afterward 
to instruct in Christianity the tribes around Manhattan, 
but the good work was neutralized by other and evil in- 
fluences. 

The West India Company appointed Peter Stuyvesant 
to succeed Kieft as governor. He had been accustomed 
to military rule, and was exceedingly arbitrary in his gov- 



THE SWEDES ON THE DELAWARE. 123 

ernment ; honest in his endeavors to fulfil his trust to the ^Mjf- 

company, he also overlooked the rights of the people. He 

thought their duty was to pursue their business, and pay 1646. 
their taxes, and not trouble their brains about his man- 
ner of government. The colony was well-nigh ruined 
when Stuyvesant came into power ; for nearly five years 
the dark cloud of war had been hanging over it. The In- 
dians had been dealt with harshly and treacherously ; 
policy as well as mercy demanded that they should be 
treated leniently. The company desired peace with the 
various tribes, for the success of trade depended upon 
their good-wiU. 

Although the Dutch claimed the territory from Cape 
Cod to the Capes of Virginia, they preferred to negotiate 
with New England, and desired that the wars between 
their mother countries in the Old World should not dis- 
turb the harmony of the New. 

It must be confessed that the Connecticut people 
annoyed Stuyvesant exceedingly. The absurd stories told 
by the wily Mohegan chief, Uncas, of the Dutch con- 
spiring with the Narragansets to cut off the English, found 
a too ready credence ; so ready as to leave the impression 
that such stories were rather welcome than otherwise, pro- 
vided they furnished an excuse for encroaching upon 
the territory of the Dutch. When accused of this con- 
spiracy, said a sachem of the Narragansets, " I am j^oor, 
but no present can make me an enemy of the English ! " 

We have now to speak of others settling on territory 
claimed by the Dutch. Gustavus Adolphus, the King of 
Sweden, was induced to engage in sending a colony to the 
New World. He wished to found an asylum to which 
Protestants of Europe could flee. Peter Minuits, who has 
already been mentioned, as commercial agent at New 
Amsterdam, offered his services to lead the company of 
emigrants. The same year that Kieft came as governor 
to New Amsterdam, Minuits landed on the shores of the 



124 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. Delaware with a company of emigrants, about fifty in num- 
ber. They purchased from the Indians the territory on 



1638. the west side of the bay and river from Cape Henlopen 
to the falls at Trenton. This was very nearly the soU of 
the present State of Delaware. Nearly all this territoiy 
had been purchased some years before by the Dutch, who 
looked upon the Swedes as intruders. The latter built a fort 
and a church on the site of Wilmington, and named the 
country New Sweden. The Dutch protested, but the 
Swedes went quietly to work, and increased from year to 
year by accessions from their native land. For years the 
disputes between the two colonies continued '; at length 
Stuyvesant, obeying the orders of the company, determined 
to make the Swedes submit to Dutch rule. The former, 

1655. \j^ surrendering, were to lose none of their rights as citi- 
zens. Thus, after an existence of seventeen years, the 
Swedish colony passed under the sway of the Dutch. 
Many of them became dissatisfied with the arbitrary acts 
of their rulers, and from time to time emigrated to Vir- 
ginia and Maryland. 

What is now New Jersey was also included in the ter- 
ritory claimed by the Dutch. They built a fort, a short 
distance below Camden, which they named Nassau. 

1623. Michael Pauw bought of the Indians Staten Island, and 
all the land extending from Hoboken to the river Earitan. 
He named the territory Pavonia. MeanwhUe the Swedes 
passed over to the east side of Delaware bay, and estab- 
lished trading-houses from Cape May to Burhngton. 

Manhattan in the meanwhile was gaining numbers by 
emigration. The stern Stuyvesant was sometimes intol- 
erant, but the company wished the people to enjoy the 
rights of conscience. They wished New Amsterdam to be 
as liberal to the exile for religion's sake as was its name- 
sake in the Old World. Every nation ia Europe had 
here its representatives. It was remarked " that the in- 
habitants were of different sects and nations, and that 



DISCONTENTS OF THE PEOPLE. 125 

they spoke many different languages." The pubhc docu- ^^-^P- 

ments were issued sometimes in Dutch, sometimes in Eng- 

lish, and sometimes in French. Two centuries ago it was 
prophesied that here would be centred the commerce of 1658. 
the world. Time is realizing the prediction. To pro- 
mote emigration the mechanic had his passage given him. 
The poor persecuted Waldenses came from their native 
valleys and mountains at the expense of the old city of 
Amsterdam. Africa, too, had her representatives. Her 
sons and daughters were brought as slaves at the charge 
of the West India Company; and the city of Amsterdam, 
in this case also, shared the expense and the profit. 

The spirit of democracy began to pervade the minds 
of the Dutch ; the credit of this has been given to the 
New Englanders, who were continually enlightening them 
on the subject of the freedom of Englishmen. This 
annoyed Stuyvesant beyond endurance. He often ex- 
pressed his contempt for the "wavering multitude;" he 
despised the people, and scoffed at the idea that they 
could govern themselves : it was their duty to work, and 
not discuss the mysteries of government. -They had no 
voice in the choice of their rulers, and were even forbidden 
to hold meetings to talk of their affairs. Stuyvesant 
finally consented to let them hold a convention of two 
delegates from each settlement ; but as soon as these dele- 
gates began to discuss his conduct as governor, he dis- 
solved the convention, bluntly telling them he derived his 
authority from the company, and not from " a few ignorant 
subjects." When a citizen, in a case in which he thought 
himself aggrieved, threatened to appeal to the States- 
General of Holland, "If you do," said the angry gov- 
ernor, "I -will make you a foot shorter than you are." 
When the day of trial came, Stuyvesant found that by 
such despotic measures he had lost the good-wUl of the 
peojile of every class and nation. 

Eumors were now rife that the English were about to 



126 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, subdue New Netherland. The people for the most part 

were mdifFerent ; they had now no civil rights, and to 

1664. them the change might be for the better ; it was not 
probable that it would be for the worse. The English 
portion longed for the rights of Englishmen. Though 
there had been war between England and Holland, the 
people of Virginia and New England, except perhaps 
those of Connecticut, were well-disposed toward the 
Dutch as neighbors. 

Stuyvesant was soon relieved of his troubles with the 
people of Manhattan. Charles II.j without regard to the 
rights of Holland, with whom he was at peace, or to the 
rights of the peojile of Connecticut under theii- charter, 
gave to his brother, the Duke of York, the entii-e country 
from the Connecticut to the Delaware. The first intima- 
tion Stuyvesant had of this intended robbery, was the pres- 
ence of a fleet, under Richard Nicholls, sent to put in 
execution the orders of the English king. The fleet had 
brought to Boston the commissioners for New England, and 
there received recruits, and sailed for New Amsterdam. 
AH was in confusion ; Stuyvesant -wished to make resist- 
ance, but the people were indifferent. What was to be 
done ? The fleet was in the bay, and the recruits from 
New England had just pitched their tents in Brooklyn : 
Long Island was already in the hands of the enemy. 
Nicholls sent Stuyvesant a letter requiiing him to surren- 
der his jwst, which the valiant governor refused to do with- 
out a struggle. A meeting of the principal inhabitants 
was called ; they veiy properly asked for the letter which 
the governor had received from the English admiral. They 
wished to know the terms he offered to induce them to 
acknowledge English authority. Eather than send the 
letter to be read to the "wavering multitude," the angry 
Stuyvesant tore it to pieces. Instead, therefore, of prepar- 
ing to defend themselves against the enemy, the people 
protested against the arbitrary conduct of the governor. 



THE INFLUENCE OF THE DUTCH. 127 

At length the capitulation was made, on the condition that chap. 

the people should be protected in their rights and property, J '_ 

rehgion and institutions. Sept. 

In a few days Fort Orange surrendered ; and in a few 
weeks the Dutch and the Swedes on the shores of the Dela- 
ware passed under the rule of England. Nicholls was 
appointed governor. New Amsterdam was to be hereafter 
known as New York, and Fort Orange as Albany. 

A treaty was also made with the Mohawks : they had 
been the friends of the Dutch, and they now became the 
friends of the English, and remained so in all their contests, 
both with the French, and the Colonies during the revolu- 
tion. They served as a bulwark against incursions from 
Canada. Their hatred of the French was intense. They 
said, the Canada Indians never invaded their • territory 
unaccompanied by a " skulking " Frenchman. 

England and Holland were soon at war again; and sud- 
denly a Dutch squadron anchored in the bay, and demand- 
ed the surrender of the colony. Thus the territory became 
New Netherland once more. 

In a little more than a year peace was made, and the 
province was restored to England. Thus after half a cen- 
tury, the rule of the Dutch passed away, but not their 
influence — it still remains to bless. The struggles of their 
fathers in HoUand in the cause of civil and religious free- 
dom, are embalmed in the history of the progress of the 
human mind. In their princi^iles tolerant, in religion 
Protestant, a nation of merchants and manufacturers, 
laborious and frugal, they acquired a fame as wide as the 
world for the noble virtue of honesty. Defenders of the 
right, they were brave, bold, and plain spoken; they were 
peaceful; they were justly celebrated for their moral and 
domestic virtues : nowhere was the wife, the mother, the 
sister more honored and cherished. Such were the ances- 
try and such the traditions of the people just come under 
British rule. A little more than a century elapsed, and 



128 HISTOEY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, their descendants, with scarcely an exception, took their 

places with the lovers of their country in the struggle for 

1664. independence. 

The change of rulers was not beneficial to the people ; 
the promises made to them were not kept ; their taxes 
were increased ; the titles to their lands were even called 
in question, that the rapacious governors might reaj) a har- 
vest of fees for giving new ones. It was openly avowed by 
the unprincipled Lovelace, the successor of NichoUs, that 
the true way to govern was by severity ; to impose taxes so 

1667. heavy that the people should have " liberty for no thought 
but how to discharge them." When the people respect- 
fully petitioned in relation to their grievances, their petition 
was burned by the hangman before the town-haU in New 
York, by order of the same Lovelace. The same species 
of tyranny was exercised over the colonists on the Dela- 
ware. 

The Duke of York sold to Lord Berkeley, brother of Sir 
William Berkeley, governor of Virginia, and Sir George 
Carteret, the soil of New Jersey. They made liberal offers 
to emigrants to settle in the territory, promising to collect 
no rents for five years. Many families were induced to 
come from Long Island. Their principal settlement was 
1670. named, in honor of Carteret's wife, Elizabethtown. AU 
went smoothly tiU pay-day came, and then those colonists 
who had Uved under Dutch rule refused to pay. They 
contended that they had bought their lands from the In- 
dians, the original owners of the soil, and that Carteret had 
no claim to rent because the king had given him a grant 
of land which did not belong to him. Others said they 
derived no benefit from the proprietary, and why should 
they pay him quit-rents ? 

The Duke of York had but little regard to the rights 

1674. of Carteret or Berkeley; he appointed Andros, " the tyrant 

of New England," governor of the colony. Berkeley, dis- 



SCOTCH PRESBYTERIANS IN EAST JERSEY. 129 

gusted by snch treatment, sold what was called West ^^j^T- 

Jersey to Edward Byllinge, an English Quaker, who in a 

short time transferred his claim to William Penn and two 1674. 
others, who afterward made an arrangement with Carteret 
to divide the territory. Penn and his associates taking 
West Jersey, and Carteret retaining East Jersey, the line 
of division being drawn from the ocean, at Little Egg 
Harbor, to the north-western corner of the province. 

Epi-scopacy having been re-established in Scotland, a 
certain portion of the Presbyterians, the Cameronians or 
Covenanters, refused to acknowledge the authority of that 
church, and in consequence they became the victims of a 
severe persecution. To escape this they were induced to 
emigrate in great numbers to East Jersey, which thus 1683. 
became the cradle of Presbyterianism in America. The 
original settlers of New Jersey were the Dutch, English, 
Quakers, Puritans, from New England, and Presbyterians, 
from Scotland, which may account for that sturdy opposi- 
tion to royal or ecclestiastical tyranny so characteristic of 
its inhabitants. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

COLONIZATION OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

The Quakers. — William Penn. — His Education. — Obtains a Charter. — Prepa- 
rations to plant a Colony. — He lands at Newcastle. — Philadelphia. — 
Rights of the Indians. — Settlement of Germantown. — Fletcher, the Royal 
Governor. — New Charter granted the People. — Prosperity of the Col- 
ony. — Trials of Penn : his Death. — Benjamin Franklin. 

CHAP. We have in the course of this histoiy met with the sect 

'_ known as Quakers, — a sect, perhaps, more than any other 

1G50. drawn from the humhler classes of the Engh'sh people. 
We have found them at one time few in number, despised 
and persecuted; treated as the enemies of social order and 
morals. They were persecuted by all the sects in turn. 
The Puritans of New England endeavored to drive them 
from their shores; the Churchmen of Virginia refused them 
a resting place ; and the politic and trading Dutch, though 
desirous for colonists, treated them harshly. 

The Quakers loved and cherished the truths of the 
Bible with as much zeal as the most devoted Puritans. As 
non-resistants, they believed that the only evil a Christian 
should resist, was the evil of his own heart : as followers of 
the Prince of Peace, they were opposed to war. How much 
blood and sorrow would be sjiared the nations, if in this 
respect they were governed by the principles of Quakerism ! 
We have now to speak of this despised sect as the found- 
ers of a State, where their principles were to be applied to 
the government of men. 



WILLIAM PENN. 131 

George Fox, their founder, had visited the American ^^^ 

colonies ; the condition of his followers touched his heart. 

Was there no asylum for them in the New World ? Who 1673. 
should furnish them the means to form for themselves a 
settlement ? 

Among the few who joined them from the higher classes 
of English society, was one destined to exert a great influ- 
ence on the sect, and to he admired and reverenced as a 
benefactor of his race by the good of every age. When a loci. 
mere youth, his heart was touched by the conversation of a 
simjile-minded Quaker, who spoke of the peace and comfort 
derived from the witnessing of God's Spirit with his own : 
" the inner light," or voice of conscience. This youth was 
William Penn, the son of Sir Wilham Penn, who was dis- 
tinguished as a successful naval commander in the times 
of Cromwell and Charles II. The position of his father 
afforded him great advantages. He studied at Oxford 
University, was then sent to the Continent to improve his 
mind by travel and intercourse with men, and to eradicate 
his tendency toward Quakerism. After the absence of two 
years he returned, improved it is true, but in religion still 
a member of that despised sect everywhere spoken against : 
a sect, which its enemies affirmed, would destroy every 
government. The ambitious and worldly-minded Admiral 
was angry and disappointed. He insisted that his son 
should renounce Quakerism. The son reflected — he loved 
and reverenced his father ; he desired to obey and please 
him, but could he violate his conscience ? No; he calmly 
resigned all earthly preferment, and became an exile from 
his father's house. A mother's love secretly relieved his 
pressing wants. 

Before long we find him in prison for his religion. 
When the Bishop of London threatened him with im- 
prisonment for Hfe if he did not recant, he calmly replied, 
" Then my prison shall be my grave ! " When a clergy- 
man, the learned StiUingfleet, was sent to convince him 



132 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, by arguments, he referred to his prison-walls, and re- 

'_ marked, " The Tower is to me the worst argument in the 

16C3. world ; those who use force for religion never can be in the 
right ! " " Kcligion," said he, on another occasion, " is my 
crime and my innocence ; it makes me a prisoner to 
malice, but my own freeman." At the expiration of a 
year he was released, through the intercession of his 
father. 

Promotion in the navy, royal favor, and every worldly 
inducement was now urged to tempt him to desert his 
principles ; but in vain. Within a year he was arraigned 
again for having spoken at a Quaker meeting. As he 
pleaded his own cause, he told the court " that no power 
on earth had the right to debar him from worshipping 
God." The jury brought in a verdict of not guilty. The 
court, determined to persecute, ordered them back to their 
room ; saying, " We will have a verdict, or you shall 
starve for it." Penn admonished them as Englishmen to 
remember their rights. To the great annoyance of his 
enemies, the jury, though they " received no refreshments 
for two days and two nights," again brought in a verdict 
of not guilty. The court fined the jury it could not 
intimidate. Though thus acquitted, the recorder, under 
the plea of contempt of court, fined Penn, and again re- 
manded him to prison. As he was leaving the room, he 
mildly remarked to the angry magistrate : " Thy religion 
persecutes and mine forgives." His father soon afterward 
paid the fine, and he was liberated. Ere long that father, 
when dying, became reconciled to his son, and called him 
to his bedside. Worldly prosperity and honor did not 
seem so important to the admiral in his dying hour as 
they had done in other days. " Son William," said he, 
" if you and your friends keep to your plain way of 
preaching and living, you will make an end to the 
priests ! " 

Weary of persecutions, Penn determined to seek in 



Mar. 
4. 



PENNSYLVANIA PURCHASED. 133 

the New World an asylum for himself and his suffering chap. 

friends. There was, perhaps, no man m the kmgdom 

better fitted to take the lead in colonizing a State : fa- 1680. 
miliar, from books as well as from observation, with the 
governments of Europe, and by personal intercourse with 
some of the most enlightened statesmen of the age ; the 
friend and companion of men, as eminent in science and 
philosophy as they were in purity of morals. 

His father had bequeathed him a claim of sixteen 
thousand pounds against the government. He offered to 
receive lands in payment. Charles II., always in want of 
money, readily granted him territory west of the Delaware 1681. 
river, corresponding very nearly Avith the present limits of 
the State of Pennsylvania, — a name given it by the king. 
The Duke of York claimed the region now known as the 1682. 
State of Delaware ; Penn wishing to have free access to 
the bay obtained it from him. 

As proprietary he now drew up a proclamation for those 
who were about to emigrate, as well as for the settlers April. 
already on the Delaware. He proposed that they should 
make their own laws, and pledged himself to interfere with 
nothing that should be for their benefit ; saying, " I 
propose to leave myself and successors no power of doing 
mischief ; that the will of no one man may hinder the good 
of a whole country." 

With instructions to govern in accordance with law, 
he sent his nephew, William Markham, as agent. He had 
expended so much to aid his suffering brethren, that his 
estate was now nearly exhausted. When about to sail for 
his colony he wrote to his wife : " Live low and sparingly 
till my debts are paid ; I desire not riches, but to owe 
nothing ; be liberal to the poor, and kind to all." At this 
time of embarrassment a very large sum was offered him 
by a company of traders for the exclusive right to trade 
between the rivers Susquehannah and Delaware. He re- 



134 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, fused to sell sucb right, saying eacli one in his colony 



should have an equal privilege to acquire property. 



1682. Penn, accompanied by one hundred emigrants, landed 
^f- at New Castle. The Swedes, Dutch, and English ahke 

welcomed him. He passed up the river to where the 
capital of his province was yet to rise ; there, under a 
spreading elm, he met a large number of sachems of the 
neighboring tribes, and with them entered into a treaty. 
No record of this treaty has been preserved, yet it re- 
mained for fifty years in force ; neither party violating its 
provisions. The sons of the forest received the " Quaker 
King" as a friend, and they never had cause to regret 
their confidence. He promised to treat them justly ; 
a promise observed not only by himself but by the Quaker 
settlers. During this year twenty-three ships laden with 
emigrants arrived safely in the colony ; and they continued 
to flock thither from year to year. 

Lands, lying between the SchuylkLU and the Delaware, 
were purchased from the Swedes : a place desirable for a 
city, from its situation, healthy air, and sj^rings of fresh 
water. It was to be a " greene country town, gardens 
round each house, that it might never be burned, and 
always be wholesome." The streets were marked out in 
the primitive forest by blazing the trees — the walnut, the 
spruce, the chestnut. A city for all mankind, it was sig- 

1683. nificantly named PniLADELrHiA. 

The new city grew very rapidly ; in three years it con- 
tained more than six hundred houses, while the colony 
had a population of nearly ten thousand. Well might 
the benevolent proprietary look forward to the future in 
cheerful hope ; he had based his government on truth and 
justice. The rights of the Eed Men were respected ; no 
one could wrong them without incurring the same penalty 
as that for wronging a fellow planter. If difficulties oc- 
curred between them and the settlers, the juries to try 
such cases were to be composed of six Indians and six 



FIKST LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY. 136 

white men. In the earlier days of the colony the natives chap. 

• 1 AlV. 

manifested their friendshij) by bringing as jiresents the 

products of the chase, wUd fowl and venison. 168.3. 

. • Mar 

Presently the first Assembly in Pennsylvama was con- 
vened. Penn gave to the people a " charter of liberties," 
a representative government, and toleration in religious 
matters ; to prevent lawsuits, three " peace-makers" 
were appointed for each county. Laws were made to 
restrain vice and to promote virtue. Labor upon the Sab- 1684. 
bath was forbidden. The confidence which the Indians had 
in his integrity gave security to their friendship, and Penn- 
sylvania was free from frontier wars, and more prosperous 
and happy than any other colony. Had the Red Men been 
treated as justly by the other colonists as by the Quakers, 
thousands of lives would have been spared and the general 
prosperity of the whole country promoted. 

The interests of the young were not forgotten ; efforts 16O2. 
were made for their education, and a pubhc high-school 
chartered by Penn, was established at Philadelphia, where 
already a printing-press, the third in the colonies, was 
doing its work. 

After Penn returned to England, the people of Dela- 
ware, or the three lower counties, who sympathized but 
little with the Quakers, began to be restless. They feigned 1691. 
grievances, as a means to become independent. He yielded 
to their request, and appointed for them a separate deputy- 
governor. 

Being the personal friend of the Duke of York, Penn 
urged him when he became king, to relieve the oppressed; 
and in consequence more than twelve hundred Quakers 
were liberated, who had been imjjrisoned many years for 
conscience' sake. His benevolence was not limited to 
those of his own persuasion, but extended to all, both 
Catholic and Protestant. 

When the great revolution drove the arbitraiy James 
into exile, and placed William of Orange on the throne, 1688. 



136 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

'^xw' -Psnn was accused by his enemies of favoring the interests 
of the exiled monarch, with whom he corresponded. This 

1692. correspondence afforded no evidence of the truth of these 
calumnies, but William lent them too ready an ear. He 
was at a loss to conceive how Penn could be the friend of 
James in exile, without wishing him to return to England 
as a sovereign. These false charges, together with rumors 
of dissensions in the colony, furnished the royal government 
a pretext for depriving Penn of his proprietary rights. 

The Quakers became divided in their sentiments; a few 
went to the extreme of non-resistance, saying, that it was 
inconsistent for a Quaker to engage in public affairs, either 
as a magistrate or as a legislator. The prime leader in 
this was George Keith. After disturbing the province be- 
yond even Quaker endurance, he was indicted by the grand 
jury, as a disturber of the peace and violator of the laws. 
He was tried, and fined for using improper language ; but 
lest it might be thought a punishment for the free expres- 
sion of opinion, the fine was remitted. The cry of perse- 
cution was raised ; but time proved the falsehood of the 
charge. 

The first German emigrants to Pennsylvania were 
Quakers in their religious views — converts of Penn and 
Barclay, who some years before had travelled on the conti- 
nent as missionaries. These settled Germantown and the 
vicinity. Twenty years later, the ravages of war drove 

1090. many Germans from their homes on the banks of the Khine. 
These emigrated in great numbers first to England, and 
then to Pennsylvania. In religious views they were Ger- 
man Reformed and Lutherans. They chose fertile dis- 
tricts, settled together, and soon became celebrated as the 
best farmers in America. Their numbers gradually increas- 
ed by accessions of emigrants from home. They did not 
assimilate with the English colonists : preserved inviolate 
their customs, their religion, and their language, which 
alone they permitted to be taught their children. The 



OPPOSITION TO ROYAL AUTHORITY. 137 

isolation of a population so large, bad an important influ- '^^P- 

ence upon the people of Pennsylvania, on their system of 

education by common schools, on the struggle for independ- 1692. 
ence, and since politically. 

An attempt was now made to convert Pennsylvania 
and Delaware into one royal province, over which Benja- 
min Fletcher was appointed governor. Some of the magis- 
trates refused to recognize bis authority, and some resigned 
their offices. When the Assembly met, the opposition 
became more determined. The members of this body 
deemed the laws made under the charter received from 
Penn as valid; neither would they legislate under any other 
authority. The charter given by King Charles, said they, 
is as valid as one given by King William ; and they re- 
fused to throw a suspicion over their existing laws by 
re-enacting them. They never noticed the governor ; with 
Quaker coolness passed and repassed his door, and in every 
respect ignored his jiresence. 

Meanwhile, Penn had been persecuted and annoyed ; 
he was arraigned three times on frivolous charges, which 
were as often not sustained. He prepared once more to jggo. 
visit his colony. Crowds of emigrants were ready to go 
with him, when he was arrested again. Forced to go into 
retirement, he determined to wait till time should bring 
him justice. This delay ruined the remainder of his for- 
tune ; death entered his family, and robbed him of his 
wife and eldest son. Treated harshly by the world, and in 
some instances by those whom he thought his friends, he 
mildly persevered; never changed his views of right and 
justice ; conscious of the purity of his motives, he serenely 
waited for the time when his character should be vindi- 
cated from the aspersions cast upon it. Ere long that time 
came, the charges laid against him were proved to be false, 
and he was restored to his proprietary rights. Igg4_ 

The want of means delayed his visit to his colony, but 
he sent Markham as his deputy. He called an Assembly; 



138 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, the people, alarmed at the recent encroachments upon 
J '_ their chartered rights, framed for themselves a liberal 

1604:. constitution. The Assembly would levy no tax until 
this was granted. When Penn arrived, he recognized as 
valid what the people had done. When the proposition 

1700. was made to form a " constitution which would be firm 
and lasting," he said to them, " Keep what is good in the 
charter and frame of government, and add what may best 
suit the common good." It was agreed to surrender the 
old charter, and in its place frame a new constitution. 

1702. The territories wished to be separate, and Delaware 
was permitted to have her own legislature ; though the 
governor was to be the same as that of Pennsylvania. 
The two governments were never again united. All the 
political privileges the people desired he cheerfully 
granted ; they enjoyed religious liberty, and aniuially 
elected their own magistrates. 

A large emigration began about this period, and con- 
tinued for half a century, to pour into Pennsylvania from 
the north of Ireland and from Scotland. These were 
principally Presbyterians. They settled in the eastern 
and middle parts of the colony, and thence gradually ex- 
tended their settlements west, making inroads upon the 
forest. 

When Penn returned to the colony it was his inten- 
tion to remain, and make it the home of his children. 
Eumors, however, reached the province that the charters 
of all the colonies were to be taken away, and they 
thrown upon the tender mercies of court favorites. He 
had not only purchased his territory from Charles, but he 
had bought the land from the Indians themselves ; he 
was therefore the sole owner of the unoccupied soil of 
Pennsylvania. These nimors rendered it necessary for 
him to return to England. Having arranged the govern- 
ment so as best to promote the interests of the people, he 
bade farewell to the colony, for which he had spent the 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 139 

better part of his life, and for which he breathed his part- chap. 
ing blessing. 

The virtues of William Penn ?aved the colony, so 1700. 
dear to his heart, from becoming a province ruled by 
royal governors and impoverished by tax-gatherers. His 
enemies never could persuade the court to deprive him 
of his property. Though in his old age so poor, on ac- 
count of the sacrifices he had made, as to be compelled to 
go for a season to a debtor's prison, he refused to sell his 
estates in America unless he could secure for the people 
the full enjoyment of their liberties. His death was as 
peaceful as his life had been benevolent. He left three 1718. 
sons, who were minors. For them the government was 
administered by deputies until the Kevolution, when the 177c. 
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania purchased theu- claims for 
more than half a million of dollars. 

Six years after the death of Penn, there came to 
Philadelphia a youth of seventeen, who was yet to exert 
a great influence, not merely upon that colony but upon 
the others, while his fame was to be as great in the world 
of science. This youth was Benjamin Franklin, a 
native of Boston, the son of a tallow-chandler ; at which 
business, till ten years of age, he labored. But his ardent 
mind craved something far beyond. During his leisure 
time, and till late at night, he read and appreciated 
all the books he could borrow, and his limited means 
could purchase. 

At twelve he was bound to his eldest brother, a print- 
er, to learn the art. There he experienced, not the 
kindness of a brother but the harshness of a tyrant. 
Worn out with this oppression, the determined youth 
sold his little library to furnish means to travel, and, 
without giving notice to his friends, left to seek his for- 
tune in the wide world. He travelled first to New 
York, where he tarried but a day, and then passed on to 
Philadelphia. There he arrived a stranger — his money 



140 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, reduced to a single dollar ; a penny roll served him for 

. '_ his first dinner. In one of the two printing-ofiices of the 

1724. city he sought and obtained employment. Afterward he 
went to London, where he spent a year and a half in the 
same business ; then returned, but every thing that could 
be of avaU to him he had carefully marked and treasured 
up. In truth he never lost a moment ; nothing escaped 
his notice, whether in the natural or political world. His 
wonderful combination of diligence, keen observation, and 
practical wisdom, fitted him to trace the current of 
human affairs, as well as deduce laws from the phenomena 
of nature. 

His experiments in electricity, the discoveiy of its 
identity with lightning, and the invention of the light- 
nins-rod, made his name famous in the universities and 
courts of the Old World ; while his " Poor Richard's 
Almanac," with its aphorisms of worldly wisdom, j^ene- 
trated every nook and corner of his native land, and by 
its silent influence did much to inculcate the virtues of 
industry and economy. 

" The first native of America, who wrote the Eng- 
lish language with classic taste and elegance," his influ- 
ence was impressed upon the literature of the land. He 
established the first American periodical magazine, con- 
ducted a newspaper, and wrote popular pamphlets on 
topics of public interest. 



CHAPTER XV. 

COLONIZATION OF THE CAROLINAS. 

The first Settlers.— Grants to Royal Favorites.— The " Grand Model."— Set- 
tlement at Cape Fear River. — Sir John Teamans. — Emigrants under 
Sayle. — The Huguenots. — The People Independent. — Rice. — Church- 
men and Dissenters. — Manufactures prohibited. — War between Eng- 
land and Spain. — Failure to Capture St. Augustine. — The ruin of the 
Appalachees. — Indian Wars. — German Emigrants. — The People repu- 
diate the Authority of the Proprietaries. 

We have now to speak of the permanent settlement of chap. 

the land, which the chivalric Sir Walter Ealeigh en- 

deavored to colonize ; and to wliich the noble Coligny 1622. 
sent his countrymen to found a Protestant State, and 
where they perished by the hand of Spanish violence. 
That vast region, extending from the southern border of 
Virginia to the northern border of Florida, was repre- 
sented as a "delightsome land" by the adventurers who 
had explored it. Thither, during the space of forty years, 
emigrants had gone from Virginia. These were Dis- 
senters, a term which now began to be applied to all 
Protestants not attached to the Church of England. 
This Church, established by law in Virginia, exercised 
great illiberality toward those who would not conform to 
its ceremonies ; and many Dissenters, greatly annoyed by 
the collectors of tythes, emigrated further south. Among 
them was a company of Presbyterians who settled on the i653. 
Chowan. Berkeley, governor of Virginia, assumed juris- 
diction over them by appointing one of their number. 



142 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. William Drummond, governor. Drummond was a Scotch- 

man by birth, a devoted advocate of jjopular liberty, tbe 

1653. same who afterward, as has been related, returned to 
Virginia, and was put to death by Berkeley for the part 
he took in Bacon's attempt to vindicate the rights of the 
1676. people. 

Charles II., who gave away vast regions with as much 
coolness as if they really belonged to him, granted to 
eight of his favorites a charter and certain privileges, to 
1663. repay them for their loyalty in restoring him to the throne 
of his father. This grant was of the territory extending 
from the present southern line of Virginia to the St. 
Johns, in Florida, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. 
Many of these proprietaries were men of influence in their 
day. Among these were the Earl of Clarendon, who was 
prime minister ; Sir Ashley Coojier, better known as the 
Earl of Shaftesbury ; General Monk, Duke of Albemarle, 
who took an active part in the restoration of Charles ; Sir 
William Berkeley, whom we have met in Virginia his- 
tory ; and Sir George Carteret, a proprietary of New 
Jersey. They professed to have "a pious zeal for the 
spread of the gospel," but their conduct has led the world 
to believe that they desired more to enrich themselves by 
means of a vast land speculation. 

The labor of framing a government for their empire in 
the New World they intrusted to Shaftesbury, and the 
celebrated philosopher, John Locke. Their joint produc- 
tion by pre-eminence was named the "Grand Model" or 
" Fundamental Constitutions." In it the right to rule 
was assumed to belong only to those of noble blood ; and 
therefore its principles were pronounced immortal. It 
made provision for Earls, Barons, and Squires, in whose 
hands, under various forms, should be the entire adminis- 
tration of affairs ; while the people were to be attached to 
the soil as tenants. Those who owned fifty acres of land 
had the privilege of voting, and were termed freemen ; but 



THE " GRAND MODEL." 143 

those who were tenants had no such privilege, neither ™ap. 

could they ever rise above that station. To the freemen 

an Assembly was granted, but on such conditions, that its 1663. 
acts were under the control of the aristocracy. Every re- 
ligion was professedly tolerated, but care was taken to 
declare that the Church of England alone was orthodox. 
Such was the frame of government prepared for the people 
of the Carolinas by the united wisdom of two philosophers. 
Had it been designed for a people living in the Middle 
Ages, it might, at least, have had a trial ; an honor to 
which the " Grand Model" never attained. It was 
as easy to convert log-cabins into castles, as to make 
the people perpetiial tenants ; they might be made 
nobles, but never dependents. Great numbers of them had 
left Virginia expressly to escape restraint and oj^pression ; 
and they had very little respect for the authority of the 
proprietaries, while they certainly did not fear and honor 
the king. 

The contest soon began. The proprietaries claimed 
the territory because the king had given them a charter, 
and they demanded quit-rents ; the settlers, already in 
possession, claimed their lands because they had pur- 
chased them from the Indians. Why should they pay 
quit-rents ? 

A few years before, a small company from New Eng- 166I. 
land had formed a settlement on Cape Fear river. Every 
inducement was held out to retain these settlers, and to 
encourage others to join them. To each one was offered one 
hundred acres of land, at a quit-rent of half a penny an 
acre ; but the barrenness of the soil neutralized every 
effort. Many of these colonists returned home, and the 
distress of the remainder was so great, that contributions 
in their behalf were taken up in New England. 

Three years later quite an accession was made to this 1664. 
settlement by a company of planters from the Barbadoes. 
Sir John Yeamans, their leader, was appointed governor. 



144 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. He was instructed, in order to induce others to come, to 

XV. 
'_ be "very tender" toward the New Englanders. The 

166i. people did the best they could with their pine barrens, by 
making staves and shingles ; these they sent to the West 
Indies : a trade carried on to this day from that region. 
It was enacted that debts contracted out of the colony 
could not be collected from the emigrant by process of 
law until he had been a resident five years. It thus be- 
came a partial asylum for debtors. 

1670. A company of emigrants, under the direction of Wil- 

liam Sayle, was also sent by the proi^rietaries ; and to 
superintend their own interests they appointed Joseph 
West commercial agent. They landed first at Port 
Royal, where the remains of the fort built by the Hugue- 
nots, one hundred years before, were still visible. It had 
been called Carolina, in honor of the reigning French 
king ; the name was now retained in honor of Charles of 
England. One of the joroprietaries, Carteret, gave his 
name to the colony. For some reason they, before long, 
removed to another situation further north, where they 
formed a settlement between two rivers, which, in honor 
of Shaftesbury, were named the Ashley and the Cooi^er. 
A location near the harbor, and better suited for commer- 
cial purposes, was afterward noticed. In process of time 
a village grew up on this spot ; it is now known as the city 
of Chakleston. 

The colony continued to increase from emigration. 
Dissenters came, hoping to enjoy the rehgious rights 
denied them at home ; Dutch and Germans from Europe ; 
Presbyterians from the North of Ireland as well as from 
Scotland — the latter furnishing great numbers of " phy- 
sicians, clergymen, lawyers, and schoolmasters;" — Church- 
men from England, who expected their church to be 
established in accordance with the provisions of the 
" Grand Model ; " emigrants from New York, because of 
the high-handed measures of the English governors ; 



THE HUGUENOTS. 145 

and Huguenots, under the patronage of Charles II. He chap. 

wished to introduce the culture of the vine and olive, the 

raising of silk-worms, and ultimately the manufacture of 1670. 
silk. Great numbers of the Huguenots, from Languedoc, 
in the South of France, came to the Carolinas, attracted 
by the genial climate, 

A law granting toleration to the Protestants of France 
was made by Henry IV. : this was the famous Edict of 1598. 
Nantes, thus named from the city where it was given. 
This law remained in force almost ninety years, when it 
was revoked by Louis XIV. He had, as long as he 1685. 
could enjoy it, spent his life in vice and the grossest de- 
bauchery ; now he thought to silence the clamors of con- 
science, that terrible enemy of wicked men, and yet win 
heaven by converting to the Romish church his Protestant 
subjects. Encouraged in this by the priests and the 
wiles of an apostate woman, he let loose upon these indus- 
trious and well-disposed people the terrors of persecution. 
Why go into the detail of their wrongs ? — the heart 
sickens at the remembrance. By a refinement of cruelty, 
they were forbidden to flee from their native land, and 
every avenue of escape was guarded by their inveterate 
enemies. Yet, after encountering unheard-of dangers and 
trials, many of them did escape, and more than five hun- 
dred thousand fled to diiferent parts of the world. In the 
New World they were everywhere welcomed by sympa- 
thizing friends. 

The Huguenots were so far superior to the Catholic 
portion of the French nation, in intelligence and the 
knowledge of the mechanic arts, that nearly all the manu- 
factures of the country were in their hands. This skill 
they carried with them, and they thus became desirable 
citizens wherever they chose to settle. In South Carolina 
their influence was specially felt. Their quiet and inof- 
fensive manners won for them respect ; their integrity and 
Industry gave them influence. Ere lona; they mingled 
10 



146 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, with Ihe inhabitants ; and their descendants, almost uni- 

XV. ' . ' 

versally, when the hour of trial came, were found on the 

1670. side of justice and liberty. 

The original inhabitants of the Carolinas were jjeculiar 
in their character. Numbers of them went thither from 
the other colonies to avoid restraint ; they refused to j^ay 
taxes to the proprietaries or to the king, or duties on 
trade ; they were friendly to the buccaneers or pirates, who 
infested the Southern waters ; they warred against the In- 
dians, to obtain captives to be sent to the West Indies and 
sold as slaves. There were no towns in the colony ; the 
planters were scattered along the streams and valleys. 
There were no roads ; they travelled along paths through 
the woods, known only by the blazed trees, or on the 
rivers by means of row-boats. The projirietaries soon saw 
the impossibility of inducing a people so free and fearless 
to conform to a government under the " Grand Model." 

Sir John Yeamans, who had been appointed governor, 

1671. brought with him, on liis return from Barbadoes, fifty 
families, and nearly two hundred slaves. This was the 
commencement of negro slavery in South Carolina. The 
slaves increased very rapidly, and in a few years so many 
had been introduced that in number they were nearly two 
to one of the whites. 

Yeamans, "a sordid calculator," had been impover- 
ished in England, and went abroad to improve his fortune. 
He took special pains to guard his own interests ; for this 
reason he was dismissed by the proprietaries. Under his 
successor, the wise and liberal West, the colony flourished 
for some years. He, too, was dismissed, not because he 
favored himself but because he favored the people. 

The next struggle came, when an attempt was made 
to levy duties on the Httle trade of the colony. The people 
considered themselves independent of the proprietaries as 
well as of the king, and under no obligation to pay taxes 
in any form. That there was much dissatisfaction in the 



DISPUTES AND PARTIES. 147 

colony, may be inferred from the fact that in the chap. 

space of six years it had five governors. To allay these 

troubles James Colleton, a brother of one of the pro- 1671. 
prietaries, was sent as governor. But when he attempted 
to collect rents and taxes he met with as little success as 
any of his predecessors : the people seized the records of 
the province, imprisoned his secretary, and boldly defied 
him and his authority. 

Though many of the settlers left Virginia on account 
of the want of religious privileges, they found but very few 
ministers of the gospel in the country. Quaker preachers 
were the first to visit the Carolinas ; afterward George 
Fox himself carried them the truth as he believed it. The 
people warmly welcomed the messenger of the gospel. 
The influence of this visit was to strengthen the hearts of 
his followers, and to make many converts. The Quakers, 
everywhere the friends of popular rights, exerted much in- 
fluence against the arbitrary rule of the proprietaries. 

There arose a party of " Cavaliers and ill-livers," 
whose morals were fashioned after those of the court of the 
profligate Charles. Opposition was excited by their high- 
handed measures, and another party sprang into existence; 
it was composed of the Presbyterians, Quakers, and the 
Huguenots, who had recently been admitted to the rights 
of citizenship. The disputes were chiefly in relation to 
rents and land tenures. 

In the midst of this confusion, an upright Quaker, 
John Arehdale, was elected governor. He assumed the 1694 
part of mediator, and attempted, with some success, to 
reconcile the disputants. In selecting his council he chose 
men of all parties, and by various judicious regulations 
partially allayed the strife. By just treatment he made 
friends of the Indians ; he ransomed and sent home some 
of their Indian converts, who were held by a neighboring 
tribe as slaves, and thus conciliated the Spaniards at St. 
Augustine. The kind act was reciprocated ; the Spaniards 



148 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, restored to their friends some English sailors shipwrecked 
XT. , . ° '■ 
on their coast. 

1694. The Dissenters numbered two-thirds of the population, 

yet, for the sake of peace, they consented that one minister 
of the Church of England should be maintained at the 
public expense. Upon one occasion the Churchmen and 
aristocracy accidentally had a majority of one in the 
Assembly ; they manifested their gratitude for the con- 
cession just mentioned, by depriving the Dissenters of all 
their political privileges ; they made the Church of Eng- 
land the established church, to be maintained at the pub- 
lic expense, and proceeded to divide the colony into 
parishes, to which the " Society for the Proijagatiou of 

1704. the Gospel" was to appoint pastors. The aggrieved 
people appealed to the House of Lords for redress ; and 
the intolerant act of the Legislature was declared to be 
null and void. The law disfranchising Dissenters was re- 
pealed, that granting a support to the Church of England 
remained in force till the Eevolution. 

Notwithstanding these difficulties the colony pros- 
pered, and increased in numbers from emigration. Among 
these a company from Massachusetts formed a settlement 

1698 twenty miles back of Charleston. During Archdale's ad- 
ministration, the captain of a shij) from Madagascar gave 
him some rice, which he distributed among the planters 
to be sown. The experiment was successfid, and soon 
Carolina rice was celebrated as the best in the world. 
The fur trade with the Indians was also profitable, while 
the forests produced their share of profit in lumber and 
tar. 

The colonists attempted to manufacture domestic 
cloths to supply their own wants ; an enterprise they were 
soon compelled to abandon. The manufacturers and mer- 
chants of England complained, as they themselves wished 
to enjoy the profits that would arise from supplying them. 
Parliament passed an act forbidding wooUen goods to be 



EXPEDITION AGAINST ST. AUGUSTINE. 149 

transported from one colony to another, or to any foreign ^'^ap. 

port. This unrighteous law, as was designed, broke up 

nearly all colonial trade and manufactures, and gave the 1699. 
English trader and manufacturer the monopoly of both. 
We shall see how this policy affected all the colonists. In 
the Carolinas, they could only engage in planting, and a 
new impulse was given to the slave trade. 

War had arisen between England and Spain, and their 
children in the New World unfortunately took up arms 
against each other. James Moore, who was now governor 
of Carolina, undertook an expedition against St. Augus- 
tine. He is represented as a " needy, forward, ambitious 
man," who was in the habit of kidnapping Indians and 
selling them as slaves : now he hoped to plunder the 
Spaniards at St. Augustine. He pressed some vessels into 1702. 
his service, and set sail with a portion of the troops, and 
sent others with the Indian allies by land. The town was 
easily taken, but the soldiers retired to a well fortified fort, 
and defied the besiegers. Moore must send to the island 
of Jamaica for cannon, to enable him to take the fort. 
Meanwhile an Indian ruimer had sped through the forest 
to Mobile, and informed the French settlers there of what 
was going on. They sent word to Havana. We may judge 
the surprise of Moore, when he saw two Spanish men-of- 
war come to rescue St. Augustine, instead of the vessel he 
expected from Jamaica. He immediately abandoned his 
supplies and stores, and made his way by land as best he 
could, to Charleston. The colony, by this unwise and 
wicked expedition, only gained a debt which pressed heavily 
upon the people for years. 

The Appalachees of Florida, under the influence of 
Spanish priests, had become converts to Romanism ; they 
built churches, and began to cultivate the soil and live in 
villages. As free intercourse existed between Florida and 
Louisiana; the English colonists professed alarm at the 
influence the French and Spaniards might have over the 



150 HISTORY OF THK UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. Indians of that region. This furnished an excuse for the 



XV 



"a 



ambitiotis Moore to lead an expedition against these inoffen- 
1V05. sire Indians, whose only crime was, that they were willing 
to be taught religion and agriculture by Spanish priests. 
With about fifty whites and one thousand friendly Indians, 
he went through the wilderness, away across the State of 
Georgia, down on the Gulf to Appalachee Bay. The first 
intimation the Indians had of this freebooting expedition 
was an attack upon their village, one morning at daylight. 
The assailants met with so warm a reception, that at first 
they were forced to retire, but not untU they had set fire 
to a church. There happened to be in the bay a Spanish 
ship, whose commander the next day, with a few white 
men and four hundred Indians, made an attack on the 
invaders, but he was defeated. The Indian villages were 
now destroyed, the churches plundered of their plate, and 
numbers of Indians taken captive, and removed to the banks 
of the Altamaha, while their own country was given to the 
Seminoles, the allies of the invaders. Thus the English 
placed Indians friendly to themselves between the Spanish 
and French settlements, while in virtue of this expedition 
they claimed the soil of Georgia. More than one hundred 
and twenty-five years afterward, the descendants of these 
Seminoles were removed beyond the Mississipi)i. Even 
then the ruins of churches marked the stations of the Span- 
ish missions among the Api)alachees. 

The next year brought Charleston two unexpected 
enemies — a malignant fever, and while it was raging, a 
squadron of Spanish and French ships to avenge the attack 
1706. upon the Apjialachees. The people, under William Khet 
and Sir Nathaniel Johnson, were soon ready to meet them. 
When they landed, they were opposed at every point, and 
driven back. A French sliip was captured ; and of the 
eight hvmdred men who landed, more than three hundred 
were either killed or taken prisoners. This victory was 
looked upon as a great triumph. 



EELIGIOTJS CONTROVERSIKS. 151 

In this conflict the Huguenots performed well their ^^^^■ 

part. An unusual number of them had settled in Charles- . 

ton ; here they founded a church, its forms of worship the 1693. 
same as those to which they were accustomed at home. 
This church still remains, the only one in the land that has 
preserved inviolate these pristine forms. 

A general effort was now made to extend the influence 
of the Church of England in the colonies. The politic 
WiUiam of Orange looked upon the project with a favor- 
able eye. A " Society for the Propagation of the Gospel 
in foreign parts " was formed in England. Its object, the 1701. 
conversion of the Indians, was worthy ; but at this time, 
by means of worldly men and politicians, its influence was 
directed to the establishment of the Church of England in 
all the American colonies. The project everywhere met 
with great opposition except in Virginia; there the dissent- 
ers were few in number. This society founded many 
churches in the colonies, which remain even to this day. 

North Carohna was called the " Sanctuary of Kun- 1712. 
aways," a " land where there was scarcely any government," 
with a population made up of " Presbyterians, Independ- 
ents, Quakers, and other evil-disposed persons." Such was 
the language of royalists and tliose opposed to freedom in 
religious opinions. The proprietaries determined to estab- 
lish the Church of England, and maintain it at public ex- 
pense. Those who refused to conform to this law were 
debarred from holding ofiices of trust. The people did 
refuse, and soon there "was but one clergyman in the 
whole country;" and those in favor of freedom in religious 
opinions, were stigmatized as a " rabble of profligate per- 
sons." These tyrannies finally led to open rebellion on the 
part of the people, who wished to govern themselves, and 
when unmolested did it well. 

Thus far North Carolina had escaped the horrors of 
Indian warfare. There were many tribes west and south 
of their territory. The greater part of the region now 



152 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, occulted by the States of Greorgia and Alabama, was the 

home of the Creeks or Muscogees, numbering nearly thirty 

1712. thousand. 

The territory of the Yamassees lay immediately west 
of the settlement on the north bank of the Savannah. In 
the vicinity were the Oatawbas, on the river wliich per- 
petuates their name. West of these, a mountaineer tribe, 
the Cherokees, roamed through the beautiful valleys of 
the upper Tennessee, while they claimed as their hunting 
grounds the regions north of them to the Kanawha and 
the Ohio. 

A great change had come over the powerful tribes 
along the coast. The Hatteras tribe, which, in Ealeigh's 
time, one hundred and twenty-five years before, numbered 
nearly twenty thousand, was now reduced to less than one 
hundred. Some tribes had entirely disappeared ; had 
retired farther back into the wilderness, or become extinct. 
Vices copied from the white man had wrought this ruin. 

The Tuscaroras, a warlike tribe, whose ancestors had 
emigrated from the north, became alarmed at the en- 
croachments of the colonists upon their lands. They 
determined to make an effort to regain their beautiful 
valleys. 

A company of German exiles from the Rhine had 
come under the direction of De Graffenried. The proprieta- 
ries assigned them lands that belonged to the Indians. 
Lawson, the surveyor-general of the province, and Graffen- 
ried, when on an exjiloring tour up the Neuse, were seized 
by a party of Tuscaroras, who hurried them on, day and 
night, to one of their villages. There several chiefs of the 
tribe held a council, and discussed the wrongs they had 
suffered from the English. They finally determined to 
burn the man, who with compass and chain had marked 
out their lands into ferms for the settlers. When Graff- 
enried made known to them that he had been only a short 
time in the countrv ; that he was the "chief of a differ- 



THE TDSCAROEAS EMIGRATE. 153 

ent tribe from the English," and moreover promised to chap. 

take no more of their lands, they did not jjut him to death 

with Lawson. He was kept a prisoner five weeks, and I7l2. 
then permitted to return home. During this time, the 
Tuscaroras and their allies, the Corees, had attacked the 
settlements on the Roanoke and Pamlico sound. The 1711. 
carnage continued for three days, and many of the poor 
people, who had fled from persecution at home, perished 
by the tomahawk in the land of their adoption. 

The people appealed to Virginia and to South CaroUna 1712. 
for aid. Only a j^art of the Tuscaroras had engaged in 
the attack. With another portion of the tribe. Spots- 
wood, governor of Virginia, made a treaty of peace, — the 
only assistance he could give. Governor Craven of South 
Carolina sent to their aid a small force, and a number of 
friendly Indians. These drove the Tuscaroras to their 
fort, and compelled them to make peace. These same 
troops, as they were returning home, basely violated the 
treaty just made ; attacked some Indian towns, and seized 
their inhabitants to sell them as slaves. The war was of 
course renewed. The Tuscaroras, driven from one place 
of concealment to another, and hunted for their scalps or 
for slaves, finally abandoned their fair lands of the south ; 
emigrated across Virginia and Pennsylvania to the home 
of their fathers, and there, at the great council-fire of the 
Iroquois, or Five Nations, on Oneida lake in New York, 
were admitted into that confederacy, of which they 
became the sixth nation. At this time, the people of 1713. 
Pennsylvania complained of the importation of these cap- 
tives into their colony. A law was therefore enacted, 
forbidding the introduction of "negroes and slaves, as 
exciting the suspicion and dissatisfaction of the Indians 
of the province." 

The war seemed to be ended, and the traders of South 
Carolina especially, extended their traffic with the tribes 
who lived in the region between that colony and the Mis- 



154 HISTOEY OF THK tJNITED STATES. 



CHAP, sissippi. Soon after, these traders were driven from the 

villages of some of the more western tribes. This was 

1V13. attributed to the influence of the French of Louisiana. 

The Yamassees, whom we have seen in alliance with 
the colonists against the Tuscaroras, when they hoped to 
obtain captives, now renewed their friendshiji with the 
Spaniards, with whom they had been at variance, — for they 
hated the priests, who attempted to convert them. They 
induced the Catawbas, the Creeks and the Cherokees, 
who had also been allies of the colonists against the 
Tuscaroras, to join them. This alliance was likewise 
attributed to Spanish and French influence. Governoi 
Spotswood seems to have revealed the truth, when he wrote 
to the " Board of Trade " in London, that " the Indians 
never break with the English without gross provocation 
from persons trading with them." These tribes had been 
looked ujDon as " a tame and peaceable people," and fair 
game for unprincipled traders. 
1715. The savages cunningly laid their plans, and suddenly, 

one morning, fell upon the unsuspecting settlers, killed 
great numbers and took many prisoners. The people fled 
toward the sea-shore. A swift runner hastened to Port 
Eoyal and alarmed the inhabitants, who escaped as best 
they could to Charleston. The Indians continued to 
prowl around the settlements, and drove the inhabitants 
before them, until the colony was on the verge of ruin. 

The enemy received their first check from forces sent 
from North Carolina. Governor Craven acted with his 
usual energy, he raised a few troops and went to meet the 
savage foe. The contest was long and severe ; in the end 
the Indian power was broken. The Yamassees emigrated 
to Florida, where they were welcomed with joy by the 
Spaniards at St. Augustine. The other tribes retired fur- 
ther into the wilderness. Yet war-parties of the Yamas- 
sees continued, for years, to make incursions against the 
frontier settlements, and kept them in a state of alarm. 



CHARTER OF THE PROPRIETARIES FORFEITED. 155 

The proprietaries made no effort to protect the colo- chap. 

nists or to share the expense of the war. They at length 

determined, as they must defend themselves, also to man- 1715. 
age their own affairs, and they resolved " to have no more 
to do with the proprietaries, nor to have any regard to 
their officers." On the other hand, the proprietaries com- 
plained that the " people were industriously searching for 
grounds of quarrel with them, with the view of throwing 
off their authority." The matter was brought before Par- 
liament, which declared the charter of the j^roprietaries to 
be forfeited. 

Francis Nicholson, who for many years had been ex- 
perimenting as a colonial governor, and, as he said, " been 
falsely sworn out of Virginia and lied out of Nova Scotia," 
was appointed provisional governor. He was not an exam- 1720. 
pie of good temper, and much less of good morals. He 
made a treaty with the Cherokees, who were to permit 
only Englishmen to settle on their lands ; and with the 
Creeks, whose hunting-grounds were to extend to the 
Savannah. He had battled against popular rights in the 
north, now he thought best to make his path easy, and he 
confirmed aU the laws passed by the revolutionary Assem- 
bly. However, when he left the country he mourned over 
the " spirit of commonwealth notions which prevailed," 
as the result, as he said, of intercourse with the New 
Englanders, who, at this time, were busily engaged in 
trading with the Carohnas. 

These disputes were at length ended by an act of Par- 
liament. Seven of the proprietaries sold out their claims 
to the government of England. The two Carolinas were 1729. 
now separated, and a royal governor appointed for each. 



CHAPTEE XVI. 

COLONIZATION OP GEORGIA. 

Founded in Benevolence. ^Oglethorpe. — First Emigration. — Savannah. — 
Encouragements. — Germans from the Western Alps. — Augusta. — The 
Moravians. — Scotch Highlanders. — The Wesleys. — Whitefield, his Or- 
phan House. — War with Spain ; its Cause. — Failure to Capture St. Au- 
gustine. Repulse of the Spanish Invaders. — The Colony becomes a 
Royal Province. 

CHAP. We have seen some colonies founded as asylums for 

X V I. , 

the oppressed for conscience' sake, and others the off- 

1732. spring of royal grants to needy courtiers, — bankrupt in 
fortune, and sometimes in morals, seeking in their old age 
to retrieve the foLies of their youth. It is now a pleasure 
to record the founding of an asylum not alone for the 
oppressed for conscience' sake, but for the victims of un- 
righteous law — a colony the offspring of benevolence ; the 
benevolence of one noble-hearted man ; — one who, born 
in affluence, devoted his wealth, his mind and his energies 
to the great work. James Edward Oglethorpe, " the poor 
man's friend," " a Christian gentleman of the Cavalier 
school," had sympathy for the unfortunate who were im- 
mured within prison walls, not for crime, but for debt. 
He labored to have repealed the laws authorizing such 
imprisonment, and to reform the entire prison discipline 
of England. 

His efforts did not end here ; he desired to provide in 
America an asylum for those who were, while in their own 
land, at the mercy of heard-hearted creditors, as well as 



A TRUST FOR THE POOR. 157 

a place of refuge for the poor, where comfort and happi- chap. 

ness might be the reward of industry and virtue. There 1. 

were, at this time, in England, more than four thousand 1732. 
men in prison for debt, with no hope of rehef Through 
his exertions, "multitudes were restored to light and 
freedom, who by long confinement were strangers and 
helpless in the country of their birth." 

Others became interested in his schemes of benevo- 
lence, and a petition numerously signed by men of influ- 
ence and family was presented to the king. They asked 
a charter to colonize the territory south of the Savannah 
river, then included in Carolina, with unfortunate debtors, 
and with Protestants from the continent of Europe. A 
grant was given by George II. of the region lying between 
the Savannah and the Altamaha, and from their head 
springs west to the Pacific. The territory was to be 
known as Georgia. It was given " in trust for the poor " 
to twenty-one trustees for the space of twenty-one years. 
The trustees manifested their zeal by giving their services 
without any reward. 

The climate of this region was thought to be very fa- 
vorable for the raising of silk-worms, and the cultivation 
of the grape. Merchants, therefore, who could not be 
otherwise influenced, were induced to favor the cause by 
hopes of gain. The " free exercise of religion " was guar- 
anteed to all " except papists." Under no conditions was 
land to be granted in tracts of more than five hundred 
acres. This was designed to enable the poor to become 
owners of the soil, and to prevent the rich fi-om monopo- 
lizing the best lands. 

Much interest was taken in this new field of benevo- 
lence, and donations were made by all classes of society. 
What a transition for the poor debtor ! He was to ex- 
change the gloomy walls of a prison for a home in that 
delightful land, where grim poverty never would annoy 
him more ! It was determined to take as colonists only 



158 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, the most needy and helpless, and, as far as possible, ex- 
'_ elude those of bad morals. 

1732. Thirty-five families, numbering altogether one hundred 
and fifty persons, embarked for their new homes. While 
others gave to the enterprise their substance and influ- 
ence, Oglethorj)e volunteered to superintend the colony in 
person. They took with them " a clergyman with Bibles, 
Prayer-books, and Catechisms," and one person who was 
skilled in the raising of silk. The company landed first 
at Charleston ; by a vote of the Assembly, they were 
welcomed, and presented with supplies of rice and cattle. 

Oglethorpe hastened to explore the Savannah. On a 
bluff twenty miles from its mouth he planted his colony. 
This bluff was already in the possession of a small band 
of Indians, from whom it was named the Yamacraw. 
Through the efforts of Mary Musgrove, who acted as in- 
tei'preter, the bluS" was purchased. This woman was a 
daughter of a Uchee chief, and had been sent to school 
in Charleston, where she had married an English trader. 

1733. The colonists immediately began to build and fortify 
their town, which they named Savannah, the Indian name 
of the river. The town was regularly laid out, with wide 
streets and spacious squares. A garden of some acres 
was inclosed for a nursery of mulberry-trees to feed silk- 
worms ; and here also experiments were made, in order to 
introduce European fruits. 

The aged chief of the little baud of Indians wished 
protection. He presented to Oglethorpe a buffalo skin, 
on the inside of which was painted an eagle. " The eagle," 
said he, " signifies speed, and the buffalo strength ; the 
English are swift as the eagle, for they have flown over 
vast seas ; they are as strong as the buffalo, for nothing 
can withstand them ; the feathers of the eagle are soft, 
and signify love ; the buffalo's skin is warm, and signifies 
protection ; therefore, I hope the English will love and 
protect our little families." The hopes of poor old 



EMIGRANTS J MORAVIANS. 159 

Tomochechi and his tribe were doomed to be sadly dis- P^v^P- 
appointed. , 

The genial climate delighted the colonists, and they 1733. 
went cheerfully to work, building their houses. The 
chiefs of the lower Creeks came and made a treaty ; they 
acknowledged the English rule from the Savannah to the 
St. John's, and west to the Chattahoochee, and gave 
them permission to cultivate the lands not used by their 
own people. Then came a messenger from the distant 
Cherokees, pledging the friendship of his tribe. Soon 
after came a Choctaw chief saying, " I have come a 
great way ; I belong to a great nation ; the French are 
among us ; we do not like them ; they build forts and 
trade with us ; their goods are poor, and we wish to trade 
with you." Thus the way was opened for a profitable 
traffic with the tribes north of the gulf, and west to the 
Mississippi. 

The fame of this delightful land reached Europe, and 
penetrated even into the fastnesses of the western Alps. 
There, long ages before the time of Luther's Reformation, 
a pure gospel had been preached, but now a persecution 
was raging. The sufferings of these Moravians deeply 
enlisted the sympathies of the English people. These 
Germans were invited by the " Society for the Propaga- 
tion of the Gospel," to emigrate to Georgia, where they 
could be free from their persecutors, and lands were offered 
them ; but they rejoiced more than all in the opportunity 
given them to carry the gospel to the Indians. Money 
was subscribed by the benevolent in England to enable 
them to travel from Avigsburg, across the country to 
Frankfort on the Main. Nearly one hundred set out on 
their pilgrimage ; they took with them, in wagons, their 
wives and children ; their Bibles and books of devotion. 
The men as they travelled on foot beguiled the toils of their 
journey by singing praises to God, and offering prayers for 
his guiding hand, and his blessing on their enterprise. 



160 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. They passed down the Main to its junction with the 
L Rhine, and thence floated down to Eotterdam, where they 

1733. were joined by two clergymen, Bolzins and Grouau. They 
sailed to England, and were there met and encouraged by 
a committee of the trustees, and thence to their distant 
home across the ocean. The faith that had cheered them 
on their native mountains, sustained them amid the 
storms of the Atlantic ; when, during a terrible tempest, 
the waves broke over the ship, and caused an outcry of 
alarm from the English, they continued their devotions 
and calmly sung on. When one of them was asked, 
" Were you not afraid ? " "I thank God, no," was the 
reply. " But were not your women and children afraid .'' " 
" No, our women and children are not afraid to die." 

A passage of fifty-seven days brought them to receive 
a hearty welcome at Charleston from Oglethorpe, and in 

1734. less than a week they were at their journey's end. A 
suitable place had been chosen for their residence, they 
founded a village a short distance above Savannah, and 
significantly named it Ebenezer. In gratitude they raised 
a monumental stone as a memento of the goodness of God 
in thus bringing them to a land of rest. They were joined 
from time to time by others from their native land. By 
their industry and good morals they secured prosperity, 
and also the respect of their fellow-colonists. 

At the head of boat navigation on the Savannah the 
town of Augusta was now founded. This soon became 
an important trading post with the Indians. 

Oglethorpe gave himself unweariedly to the work of 
benefiting those he governed. The success of the enter- 
prise may be safely attributed to his disinterested labors. 
" He," said Governor Johnson, of South Carolina, " nobly 
devotes all his powers to save the poor, and to rescue them 
from their wretchedness." After the residence of a year 
and a half he returned to England, taking with him 



JOHN' AND CHARLES WESLEY. 161 

several Indian chiefs, and raw silk — the product of the ^^ap. 
colony — sufficient to make a robe for the queen. 

As an inducement for settlers, the trustees offered to 1734. 
each one who should emigrate, at his own expense, 
fifty acres of land. On these conditions came a number 
of Moravians or United Brethren, with the intention of 
devoting themselves to the conversion of the Indians. i735. 
They formed a new settlement on the Ogeechee, south of 
the Savannah. 

The same benevolent spirit which had relieved poor 
debtors in i^rison, now devised measures to ward off one 
of the most effective causes of debt and wretchedness ; 
and accordingly the importation of rum into the colony 
was prohibited. The trustees also forbid negro slavery, 
" that misfortune of other plantations." They did not 
wish to see their province "filled with blacks, the preca- 
rious property of a few." They looked upon it as cruel 
and inhuman, and injurious to the " poor white settlers," 
for whom, in trust, they held the colony. 

The next year Oglethorpe returned, with more emi- 1736. 
grants, among whom was a party of Scotch Highlanders, 
with their minister, John McLeod. These founded a set- 
tlement at Darien, on the Altamaha. There likewise 
came two young men as preachers to the people, and as 
missionaries to the Indians. These were the brothers 
John and Charles Wesley, — men of ardent piety and zeal- 
ous in the cause of religion, they hoped to make the 
colony eminent for its religious character. Enthusiastic 
in their feehngs, and perhaps a little wanting in discretion, 
certainly in experience, they were soon involved in trouble. 
For a time, John Wesley drew crowds of hearers ; places 
of amusement were almost deserted. We doubt not that 
he spoke the truth plainly, and in accordance with his 
duty, but his austere manners and denunciation of sin 
created him enemies. In one case, his severe exercise of 
church discipline excited bitter feeling against himself, 
11 



162 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, and sympathy for the victim of his injudicious zeal. 

'_ Charles Wesley was, for awhile, the secretary of Ogle- 

1738. thorpe, but in some unexplained manner he gave oifence 
to his patron ; at length an explanation took place, and a 
reconciliation. Kind and gentle in his nature, he was 
unfitted to endure the hardships to be encountered, and 
to sympathize with the unpolished colonists of Georgia. 
After a residence of less than two years, the Wesleys, dis- 
appointed in their hopes of doing good there, left the 
colony forever. In their native land they became the 
founders of the denomination of Methodists, who have 
been, in that very colony, as well as in others, among the 
foremost in carrying the gospel to destitute settlements. 
Thus their labors were blessed, their prayers were an- 
swered, and their hopes realized ; but, as is often the case 
in the ways of Infinite Wisdom, not in the form and 
manner in which they expected. 

Just as the Wesleys, on their return home, were pass- 
ing up the channel, their friend and fellow-laborer, the 
celebrated George Whitefield, the most eloquent preacher 
of his day, was leaving England to join them in Georgia. 
Whitefield had commenced preaching when a mere youth, 
and by his wonderful eloquence drew great crowds. He 
first preached in the prisons, and then to the poor in the 
open fields. Now he felt it his duty to visit the colonies. 
When he arrived in Georgia, his .sympathies were much 
enlisted in behalf of the destitute children, left orphans. 
He visited the Moravians at Ebenezer, where he noticed 
their asylum for poor children, and determined, if possible, 
to found a similar one. By his fervent zeal in the cause 
he obtained sufficient funds in England and America. 
The institution was founded a few miles from Savannah. 
During his lifetime it flourished ; at his death it began to 
languish, and finally passed out of existence. 

The Spaniards were not pleased with the encroach- 
ments of the English upon what they deemed their terri- 



ENGLISH TRADERS ; WAR WITH SPAIN. 163 

tory, and tliey sent commissioners to protest against it, '^'^^P- 

and to demand the surrender of all Georgia and part of 

Carolina. When tliis was unheeded, they prepared to ex- 1738. 
pel the invaders. There were other causes, which made 
it evident that war would soon take place between the 
mother countries, in which the colonies would certainly 
become involved. 

The European governments restricted the commerce 
of their colonies so as to make them subserve their own 
interests. Those belonging to Spain must trade only with 
the port of Cadiz, and the merchandise shipped to them 
was sold at enormous prices. The English traders per- 
sisted in smuggling goods into the Spanish ports. To 
accomplish this they resorted to various stratagems. By 
treaty, an English vessel was permitted to come once a 
year to Portobello and dispose of her cargo ; but this 
vessel was followed by others ; they came in the night 
time, and slipped in more bales to supply the place of 
those sold, and continued to do this, till the market was 
supplied. Sometimes, under the pretence of distress, ships 
would run into Spanish ports, and thus dispose of their 
cargoes. 

Though Spain was rich and feeble, she was haughty 
and cruel ; and when any of these worthies, who were 
engaged in violating her laws, were caught, they were 
severely dealt with. Sometimes they were imprisoned, 
and sometimes their ears were cropped. This exasperated 
the traders, and though justly punished, they came with 
the assurance of ill-treated men, to ask protection from 
their own government. They were looked upon as mar- 
tyrs to the cause of free commerce, and merchants, in 
defence of such men as these, did not blush to clamor for 
war, in the face of justice and national integrity. In 
truth, the English government connived at this clandes- 
tine trade, and secretly rejoiced at the advantage gained 
over her rival. By this connivance at injustice she gave 



164 HISTOEY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, her own colonies a lesson on the subject of their trade, 

' which, in less than half a century, she found, to her sur- 

1738. prise, they had fully learned. 

Another source of irritation to the people of South 
Carolina, was that slaves, who ran away to Florida and 
put themselves under Spanish protection, were not only 
welcomed, hut given lands ; organized into military com- 
panies, and armed at the public expense. A demand 
made upon the authorities at St. Augustine to restore the 
runaways, was promptly refused. Ogiethorj^e hastened to 

1737. England to make preparations for the coming contest, and 
returned in less than a year, with a regiment of six hun- 
dred men, which he himself had raised and disciplined. 
He was now prepared to defend the southern boundary of 
Georgia. He renewed treaties with the Indian tribes 
north of the Gulf from the Atlantic to the Mississippi, 
and hoped to retain them in his interest. War was, at 

■IY39 length, declared by England against Spain, and Ogle- 
thorpe received orders, as military commander in Georgia 
and the Carolinas, to invade Florida. With his usual 
energy, he hastened to Charleston to make the necessary 
preparations. Supplies were voted and a regiment en- 
listed ; and, joined by Indian allies, he set out to lay 
siege to St. Augustine. He found the garrison much 
more numerous than he expected, and the fortifications 
stronger. After a short siege, the Indians began to desert, 
and the Carolina regiment, enfeebled by sickness, returned 
home. In five weeks the enterprise was abandoned. On 
this occasion, Oglethorpe exhibited the kindness of his 
nature ; he endured all the privations of the common sol- 
diers. The captives taken were treated kindly, no houses 

1740. were burned, and but little property destroyed. 

This war had a very bad eifect upon the colony of 
Georgia. Instead of making farmers of the settlers, it 
made them soldiers, and their farms were neglected. The 
Moravians, who were religiously opposed to bearing arms, 



July. 



THE SPANIARDS INVADE GEORGIA. 165 

left the colony in great numbers, and emigrated, with *^xv/'' 
other disaffected persons, to the Carolinas. 

It was ere long the turn of Georgia to he invaded. I'i'^O- 
For this purpose, the Spaniards at Havana and St. 
Augustine fitted out thirty-six vessels and three thousand ITiS. 
troops. The commander, Monteano, instead of sailing 
direct for Savannah, became entangled among the islands, 
near the mouths of the St. Mary and the Altamaha, while 
endeavoring to take possession of one or two insignificant 
settlements. Oglethorpe ascertained the intention of the 
enemy, hut as he had received no assistance from CaroUna, 
was ill prepared to meet them. Having but eight hun- 
dred men, he was forced to retreat from Cumberland 
island to St. Simons, on which was the little town of 
Frederica, the special object of the Spanish attack. 

After the enemy landed he went to surprise them in 
the night, but as he approached their lines, one of his 
soldiers, a Frenchman, fired his gun, rushed into the ene- 
my's camp, and gave the alarm. Oglethorpe employed 
stratagem to throw suspicion uj)on the deserter ; he wrote 
him a letter, in which he addressed him as a spy for the 
EngUsh, and directed him to induce the Spaniards to 
attack them, or at least to remain where they were until 
the EngUsh fleet of six men-of-war, which had sailed from 
Charleston, should reach St. Augustine, and capture it. 
This letter he bribed a Sj)anish prisoner to carry to the 
Frenchman. As was to be expected, it was taken imme- 
diately to the Spanish commander, and the Frenchman 
soon found loimself in irons. In the midst of the alarm, 
some Carolina ships, laden with supplies for Oglethorpe, 
appeared in the ofiing. Thinking these the veritable men- 
of-war mentioned in the letter, the invaders determined 
to attack and destroy Frederica, before they should sail 
to defend St. Augustine. On the way they fell into an 
ambuscade, and, at a place since known as the " Bloody 
Marsh," they were signally defeated. The following night 



166 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

P^P- they emtarked, and sailed to defend St. Augustine from 
the expected attack. Thus Georgia and the Carolinas 

1743. were saved from ruin. 

The following year Oglethorpe left the colony forever. 
There he had spent ten years of toil and self-denial ; he 
had for his reward no personal benefit, but the satisfaction 
of founding a State, and of leaving it in a prosperous con- 
dition. The form of government was changed from a 
military to a civil rule, and the various magistrates were 
appointed. 

In time, slavery Avas gradually introduced. Slaves 
were at first hired from the Carolinas, for a short time, 
and then for one hundred years. The German settlers 
were industrious and frugal, and so were the Highlanders. 
They were opposed to the introduction of slaves. On the 
other hand, great numbers of the English settlers were 
idle and bankrupt from their improvidence ; " they were 
unwilling to labor, but were clamorous for privileges to 
which they had no right." They contended that rum was 
essential to health in that climate, and that none but 
slaves could cultivate the soil of Georgia ; and, in seven 
years after the benevolent Oglethorpe left, slave ships 
brought negroes to Savannah, direct from Africa. 

1750. The trustees, when the twenty-one years for which 

they were to manage the " colony for the poor " were 
expired, resigned their trust, and Georgia became a royal 

1753. province. 



CHAPTEK XVII. 

NEW ENGLAND UNDER CHARLES 11. AND JAilES II. 

The Restoration. — The Commissioners. — Progress of Trade. — Causes of 
King Philip's War.— Death of Wamsutta.— State of the Colony. — At- 
tack at Swanzey. — Philip among the Nipmucks. — Attacks on Northfield, 
and on Hadley. — Goffe. — The Tragedy at Bloody Brook. — Philip among 
the Narragansets. — Their Fort captured. — The Warriors take Revenge. 
— Philip returns to Mount Hope to die. — Disasters of the War. — James 
II. — The Charters in danger. — Andros Governor ; his illegal Measures ; 
takes away the Charter of Rhode Island ; not so successful at Hart- 
ford. — Andros in Jail. — The Charters resumed. 

The first intimation of the restoration of Charles II. chap. 

XVII 

was brought to New England by two fugitives, WhaUey '_ 

and GofFe. They came branded as regicides, for they sat 166O. 
on the trial of Charles I. They had fled for their lives ; 
ere long came the royal command to deliver them up to 
their pursuers, that they might be taken back to England 
and there punished. But royal commands and rewards 
were of no avail, the stern republicans were not betrayed ; 
the people gloried in protecting them. 

Kumors were afloat that the governments of all the 
colonies were to be changed, and that soon armed ships 
might be expected in the harbor of Boston, sent to enforce 
the royal authority. After a year's delay, it was thought 
prudent to proclaim Charles as king. It was done ungra- 
ciously, as all manifestations of joy were forbidden. 

From time to time intelligence came of the execution 
of many of their best friends in England ; among these 
were Hugh Peters and Sir Harry Vane : news came also 



168 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, that Episcopacy was again in power, and that more than 

. two thousand clergymen had been driven from their con- 

1663. gregations because they would not conform. At length, 
two agents were sent to conciliate the king, and to make 
guarded professions of loyalty, as well as to ask permission 
to make laws against the Quakers. 

Connecticut and Khode Island had both received lib- 
eral charters from Charles, the former obtained principally 
through the influence of the younger Winthrop. Mean- 
time the intolerance of Massachusetts had raised up 
against her a host of enemies, who were continually whis- 
pering their complaints into the royal ear. The alarm was 
presently increased, by information that commissioners 
had been appointed to inc[uire into the affairs of the 
colony. To provide for the future, the charter was, for 
safe-keeping, secretly given to a committee appointed by 
the General Court. 

When the commissioners came, they outraged the 
prejudices of the people by having the Episcopal service 
performed in Boston. The Puritans observed the evening 
of Saturday as holy time ; after the Jewish custom, they 
commenced their Sabbath at sunset. As if to annoy 
them, the commissioners habitually spent their Saturday 
evenings in carousals. They also took in hand to redress 
grievances, and invited all those who had complaints to 
make against the Massachusetts colony, to bring them to 
their knowledge. Rhode Island came with her complaints, 
and the Narraganset chiefs with theirs ; but the Greneral 
Court cut the matter short, by forbidding such proceed- 
ings, as contrary to the charter. 

The laws passed by the mother country for the express 
purpose of crippHng the trade of the colonies, could not 
be enforced, and Boston especially attracted attention by 
her prosperous commerce. Industry and temperance in- 
sured the prosperity of the people, and they increased in 
riches and in numbers ; they also found means to indulge 



CAUSES OF KING PHILIP'S WAR. 169 

their taste, and began to embellisb tbeir villages. Massa- ^^f- 

chusetts traded not only with the other colonies, but her 1 

shi2is were found in every sea where commerce invited, 1663. 
and not only England traded with her, but France and 
Spain, Holland and Italy, were competitors for her favors. 

For forty years there had been no Indian war in New 
England ; the fate of the Pequods was not forgotten. 
During this time the number of the Indians had not 
diminished, while that of the colonists had greatly in- 
creased. Their farms had extended in every direction ; 
they gradually absorbed the best lands of the country, 
and crowded the Indians down on the little bays and pen- 
insulas, on the southern shore of Massachusetts and Rhode 
Island. This policy was openly avowed, as thereby they 
could be more easily watched. 

The Wampanoags and Narragansets were especially 
aggrieved. They could not, without great exertion, obtain 
the means of living ; the animals which they hunted, had 
been nearly all driven away, and they were forced to de- 
pend upon fish, and of these they could obtain but a 
scanty supply, and they had not learned the art of culti- 
vating the soil, but in a very rude manner. 

Massasoit, the friend who had welcomed the early 
Pilgrims, left two sons, Wamsutta and Metacom. Years 
before their father's death these young men went to Plym- 
outh, where they entered into friendly relations with the 
English, and received from them the names by which we 
know them, Alexander and Philip. They were no ordi- 
nary men, they seemed to have perceived from the first 
the dangers that threatened their race. If so, they con- 
cealed their impressions, and could never be won over to 
the religion of the English. When Massasoit died, and 
Wamsutta became cliief sachem of the Wampanoags, the 
colonists, incited by Uncas, chief of the Mohegans, his 
bitter enemy, became suspicious of him. As he reposed 



170 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP- at his hunting lodge with eighty of his followers, he was 

surprised by Winslovv, who had been sent with an armed 

1671. force to bring him to the court at Plymouth. Wamsutta 
thought not of danger ; liis arms and those of his warriors 
were outside the lodge and easily secured. When Wins- 
low, with his pistol at his breast, told tlie astonished chief 
he must go with liim, his proud spirit was roused to bitter 
indignation. His exasperation threw him into a fever so 
violent, that he was unable to proceed far. In conse- 
quence of his illness he was permitted to return home. 
" He died on his way. He was carried home on the shoul- 
ders of men, and borne to his silent grave near Mount 
Hope, in the evening of the day, and in the prime of his 
life, between lines of sad, quick-minded Indians, who well 
believed him the victim of injustice and ingratitude ; for 
his father had been the ally, not the subject of England, 
and so was he, and the like indignity had not before been 
put upon any sachem."* 

It is natural to suppose that the untimely and tragical 
fate of Wamsutta gave character to the latent hostility 
that existed in the mind of his brother Philip toward the 
English race. Soon suspicions fell upon him, and at one 
time he was harshly treated, and compelled to give up his 
fire-arms. A praying Indian, who lived with Philip, told 
1675. ^]^Q colonists that the Wampanoags entertained some de- 
signs against them. There is some doubt as to the truth 
of this story ; however, a short time after this Indian was 
found murdered. Suspicion fell upon three of Philip's 
men, who were apprehended by the authorities of Plym- 
outh, and brought to trial ; they were pronounced guilty 
by a jury composed of English and Indians. The execu- 
tion of these men aroused the slumbering enmity of the 
tribe. The young warriors were clamorous for war, while 
the old men dreaded the contest. Philip, from his supe- 

* Elliott's Uist. of New England. 



THE WAR BEGINS AT SWANZEY. 171 

rior sagacity, foresaw that an attempt to regain their chap. 
lands would end in their own destruction. 1 

The colonists could now have warded off the strife by 1675. 
concihating the Indians. No effort was made to soothe 
their wounded feelings, they were treated as " bloody 
heathen," whom it was their duty, as " the chosen of the 
Lord," to drive out of the land. Avarice, contrary to ex- 
press law, had been for many years furnishing the savages 
with fire-arms, and when the contest came, they were far 
more formidable than the Pequods had been ; to conquer 
them required a great sacrifice of the best blood of the 
colony. 

Though there were settlements more or less extending 
from Boston to Westfield on the west, and to Northfield 
in the Connecticut valley on the borders of Vermont, and 
on the north to Haverhill on the Merrimac, there were 
vast solitudes, whose secret glens and hiding-places were 
known only to the Indians. The spirit of the tribes near 
the settlements was broken by their contact with the 
superior whites, but Philip had under his control seven 
hundred brave warriors, who rejoiced in their freedom, and 
scorned to be the subjects of any white chief beyond the 
great waters. They not only rejected the religion of the 
white man, but despised those tribes who had adopted it. 

In prospect of the threatened war, a day of fasting 
and prayer was observed ; as the people were returning 
from church at Swanzey, they were suddenly attacked by 
a company of Philip's men, and seven or eight persons June 
killed. Philip shed tears when he heard that blood had ^'^' 
been shed ; the dreaded ruin of his people was drawing 
near. His tribe, single-handed, entered upon the con- 
test ; the others were either the allies of the English or 
indifl'erent. He scorned to desert his people, or forfeit his 
character as a warrior, and he threw himself into the con- 
test with the whole energy of his nature. 

The war began within the bounds of the Plymouth 



172 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, colony ; but volunteers hastened to its aid from Massa- 

XVII. "^ 

chusetts. The army invaded the territory of the Wam- 

1675. panoags, and in a few weeks Philip, driven from Mount 
Hope, became a fugitive among the Nipmucks, a tribe 
in the interior of Massachusetts. After the flight of 
Philip and his warriors, the little army went into the 
territory of the Narragansets, and compelled them to 
promise neutrality, and also to deliver up the fugitive 
Indians who should flee to them. They fondly hoped the 
war was at an end ; but this was only its beginning. 

The Nipmucks were induced to make common cause 
July with Philip and his tribe. His warriors, partially armed 
^^- with muskets, prowled round the settlements, ruthlessly 
murdered the whites, and treated their remains with sav- 
age barbarity. The Indians were familiar with the hidden 
paths of the wilderness ; not daring to meet the colonists 
in open conflict, they watched for opportunities of secret 
attack. It was not known when or where the storm 
would burst, and the terror-stricken inhabitants along the 
frontiers fled to the more thickly settled portions. 

Superstition added her terrors. The people saw an 
Indian bow drawn across the heavens ; a scalp appeared 
on the face of the eclipsed moon ; troops of phantom 
horsemen galloped through the air ; the bowlings of the 
wolves were more than iisually fearful, and portended some 
terrible ruin ; whizzing buUets were heard in the whist- 
ling wind ; the northern lights glowed with an unusual 
glare — the harbinger of the punishment of sin. They be- 
gan to enumerate their sins ; among these were the 
neglect of the training of children, the using of profane 
language, the existence of tippling houses, the want of 
respect for parents, the wearing of long and curled hair 
by the men, the flaunting of gaudy-colored ribbons by 
the women ; and intolerance whispered that they had 
been too lenient to the Quakers. 

The Nipmucks had fifteen hundred warriors ; with 



GOFFE THE KEGICIDE. 173 

some of these Philip hastened to the valley of the Con- ™i)f- 

necticut, and spread desolation from Springfield, through 

all the settlements to the farthest town of Northfield. 1G75. 

An efl'ort was made to win back the Nipmucks to Aug. 
their old allegiance ; and Captain Hutchinson, son of 
Anne Hutchinson, was sent with twenty men to treat 
with them, but the whole company was waylaid and mur- 
dered at Brookficld. That jjlace was burned ; the people 
fled to the strongest house, which was besieged two days, 
and finally set on fire ; but providentially a storm of rain 
extinguished the flames, and others coming to their assist- 
ance, the Indians were driven otf. 

The enemy concerted to make their attacks on the 
same day and hour, in difierent parts of the country. On 
the Sabbath, which seems to have been chosen by them 
as the day most favorable for an attack, they burned 
Deerfield ; and, as the people were worshipi^ing in church, 
they attacked Hadley. Suddenly there appeared a tall 
and venerable looking man, with a white flowing beard, 
who brandished a sword and encouraged and directed the 
people in the battle. When the savages Avere driven off, 
he disapjjeared ; some thought him an angel, specially 
sent by heaven to their aid. It was Gofle, one of the reg- 
icides of whom we have spoken. These regicides had 
been hunted by zealous royalists from one place of refuge 
to another ; now they were sheltered by the good minister, 
John Davenport, of New Haven ; now by friends at Mil- 
ford ; now they had wandered in the pathless wilderness, 
and once they had heard the sound of their enemies' 
horses, as in hot pursuit of them, they crossed the very 
bridge under which they were secreted ; they had rested 
in a cave on the top of " West Keck," New Haven, known 
to this day as the "Judges' Cave," and at this time they 
were living secretly in the house of minister Russell, at 
Hadley. Thus they passed their remaining years ban- 
ished from society and from the occupations of life. 



174 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. A company of chosen young men, " the flower of the 

1 county of Essex," eighty in number, were engaged in 

1675. bringing the fruits of harvest down from the vicinity of 

Deerfiekl to Hadley, where it was proposed to establish a 

magazine for provisions. They fell into an ambuscade of 

seven hundred warriors, and, after a desperate encounter, 

nearly all perished, at the crossing of a little stream, since 

called the " Bloody Brook." 

Sept, Ere lonsr the flourishino; settlement of Hatfield was 

18 

attacked ; and the Indians in the vicinity of Springfield 

were induced to take up arms ; but the people were pre- 
Oct. pared, and repulsed them. Philip returned home, but 
finding Mount Hope in ruins, he went among the Narra- 
gansets. The colonists feared that he would induce them 
to join him, and in self-defence they resolved to treat 
them as enemies. The winter, by stripping the trees and 
bushes of their leaves, had deprived the Indians of their 
hiding places, and the swamps, their favorite sites for 
forts, could be passed over when frozen. A company of 
one thousand men set out to attack their principal fort. 
This place of defence contained about six hundred wig- 
wams and nearly three thousand of the tribe ; warriors 
with their wives and children, and an. abundance of pro- 
visions for the winter. They thought themselves secure ; 
they had taken no part in the war. 

Guided by an Indian traitor, the army marched fifteen 
miles through a deep snow, and finally arrived at the Nar- 
raganset fort, situated near where the village of Kingston 
in Ehode Island now stands. Their fort, surrounded by 
a palisade, stood in the midst of a swamp, and was almost 
inaccessible ; it had but one entrance, the narrow passage 
to which was along the body of a fallen tree. After a 
severe contest of two hours, the English forced themselves 
within the fort, and applied the torch to the frail and 
combustible wigwams. A thousand warriors were slain, 
and hundreds were made prisoners. Their provisions 



Dec. 
19. 



DEATH OF PHILIP. 175 

were all destroyed, and those who escaped were left shel- ™^P- 

terless in the winter storms. They were forced to dig in 

the snow for nuts and acorns to sustain life, and great 1675. 
numbers died of exposure and famine before spring. The 
colonists suffered severely ; they lost six captains, and two 
hundred and fifty men killed and wounded. 

The surviving Narraganset warriors took vengeance ; 
they went from place to place ; they massacred, they 
burned, they destroyed. The settlements in their vicinity 
were abandoned. Though Rhode Island had not joined 
in the war, they made no distinction, and Providence was 
almost destroyed. The now aged Eoger Williams felt 
it his duty to act as captain, in defending the town 
he had founded. Bands of warriors swept through and 
through the territory of Plymouth, and the people were 
only safe when within their forts. Towns in different 
parts of the country were attacked at the same time ; the 
enemy seemed to be every where. 

The majority of the Indians continued to fight ; and 1676. 
though they fought without hope, they preferred death to 
submission. Others quarrelled among themselves, charg- 
ing one another with being the cause of the war. At 
length the Nipmucks submitted ; and the tribes on the Jnne. 
Connecticut, having grown weary of the contest, would 
shelter Philip no longer. He now appealed, but in vain, 
to the Mohawks to take up arms. In desperation, he 
determined to return and die at Mount Hope. When 
one of his followers proposed to make peace, the indignant 
chieftain struck him dead at a blow. It was soon noised 
abroad that Philip had returned to his old home. Benja- 
min Church, the most energetic of the English captains, 
surprised his camp, dispersed his followers, and took pris- 
oner his wife and little son. PhQip's spirit was now 
crushed ; he exclaimed : " My heart breaks ; I am ready 
to die ! " A few days after he was shot by a traitor of his Aug. 
own tribe. His orphan boy was now to be disposed of. 



17G HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. He was taken to Boston ; some were in favor of putting 

him to death, others of selling him into slavery. The 

1676. latter prevailed, and the last prince of the Wampanoags, 
the grandson of generous old Massasoit, who had welcomed 
the Pilgrims, and had given them his friendship, was sent 
to toil as a slave under the burning sun of Bermuda. 

After the close of the war, renewed efforts were made 
to convert the remaining Indians, hut without success. 
The habits of a people are not easily changed. If those 
who came in contact with them had set them a Christian 
example, as did Eliot, and the "learned and gentle" 
Mayhew, the effect might have been different. The war 
had completely broken the power of the Indians. The 
more bold emigrated to Canada, and avenged themselves 
in after years, by guiding war parties of the French against 
the English settlements. Some went to the west, and, it 
is said, their descendants are at this day roaming over its 
wide prairies. But the great majority lost their native 
independence, and became still more degraded by marry- 
ing with the negroes. At this day, a few descendants of 
the warriors who once roved over the hills and valleys of 
New England, may be seen lingering in the land of their 
fathers. 

For a time the effect of the war was disastrous ; 
though it lasted but little more than a year, a dozen vil- 
lages were in ashes, and others nearly destroyed. Of the 
private dwellings, a tenth part had been burned, six hun- 
dred of the men of the colony had perished in battle, not 
to mention the women and children ruthlessly massacred. 
Almost every family was in mourning. The expenses of 
the war were great, and for years weighed heavily upon 
the people, while the desolation of the settlements par- 
alyzed their energies. 

No aid came to the sufferers from England ; but be it 
remembered, that a Non-conformist church in Dublin 
sent them five hundred pounds. Instead of aiding them, 



DESPOTISM OF JAMES. 177 

the spendthrift Charles devised means to extort money ^-^P- 

from them by taxing their trade. This led to the estab- 

lishment of a royal custom-house in Boston. To compel 1676. 
the merchants to pay tribute, he threatened to deprive 
them of English passes for their ships in the Mediterra- 
nean, where, without redress, they might be robbed by 
pirates along the Barbary coast ; and he also threatened 
to deprive them of their trade with the southern colonies. 
These threats had little effect upon men who had learned 
to take care of themselves. 

James II., the brother and successor of Charles, was less. 
bigoted and stubborn ; a Catholic in disguise, he wished 
to establish that form of rehgion, not only in England, 
but in the colonies. The more easily to accomplish this 
object he professed to be very tolerant, and proclaimed 
what he termed an Indulgence, by which persecution for 
religious opinions was henceforth to end. Tliis tolerance 
was only a means to evade the laws, which prohibited the 
introduction of Komish ceremonies and doctrines into the 
Church of England. He became a bitter persecutor ; in 
truth, to comprehend the idea of the rights of conscience 
or of reUgious freedom, was far beyond the capacity of 
James. That time-serving pohtician, Joseph Dudley, a 
native of Massachusetts, who, when it was profitable, was 
a zealous advocate of colonial rights, now became an ear- ^ggg 
nest defender of the prerogative of the king. He was 
aj^pointcd the royal president of Massachusetts, until a 
governor should arrive. There could be no free press 
under a Stuart, and Edward Kandolph was appointed its 
censor. Eandolph disliked the people of Massachusetts 
as cordially as they hated him. The commission of Dud- 
ley contained no recognition of an Assembly or Represent- 
atives of the people. James was at a loss to see the use 
of a legislature to make laws, when his wisdom could be 
appealed to for that purpose. Dudley, looked upon as 
the betrayer of his country's hberties, was very unpopu- 
12 



178 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CSAK lar, while Eandolph took pains to have his character as 

httle respected at court, hy representing him as having 

1686. "his fortune to make," and wilhng to "cringe and bow 
to any thing." 

James had resolved to take away the charters of all 
the colonies and make them royal jjrovinces. Ere long 
came Sir Edmund Andros, as governor of all New Eng- 
land. A fit instrument of a despot, he was authorized 
to impose taxes, to appoint his own council, to have the 
control of the militia, to prohibit printing, to introduce 
Episcopacy, and to enforce the laws restricting the trade 
of the colonies. That he might have the means to fulfil 
his instructions, he brought two companies of soldiers — the 
first ever stationed in "New England. As a reward for his 
desertion of the people's rights, Dudley was appointed 
Chief Justice, and the busy Eandolph Colonial Secretary, 
and William Stoughton, through the influence of Dudley, 
was named one of the council. Now followed a series of 
measures exceedingly annoying to the people. Their 
schools were left to languish. To assemble for delibera- 
tion on any public matter was forbidden ; but it was 
graciously i:(ermitted them to vote for their town officers. 
The customs of the country were not respected. The 
usual form of administering an oath was that of an appeal 
to heaven by the uplifted hand ; the form now prescribed 
was that of laying the hand on the Bible, which the Pu- 
ritans thought idolatrous, — a relic of popery. Exorbitant 
fees were extorted ; those who held lands were told their 
titles were not valid, because they were obtained under a 
charter which was now declared to be forfeited ; and when 
an Indian deed was presented, it was decided to be " worth 
no more than the scratch of a bear's jiaw." No person 
could leave the colony without a ^tass from the governor. 
No magistrate nor minister — who was deemed merely a 
layman — could unite persons in marriage. The Episcopal 
clergyman at Boston was the only person in all New Eng- 



ANDBOS AT HARTFORD. 179 

land authorized to perform that ceremony. Episcopacy chap. 

was now fully introduced, and the people required to fur- 

nish funds to build a church for its service. A tax of the 1686. 
same amount was levied upon each person, poor or rich ; 
this some of the towns refused to pay. John Wise, the min- 
ister of Ipswich, was hold to say the tax was unjust, and 
ought not to he paid. For this he was arrested. When 
he spoke of his privileges as an Englishman, he was told 
the only privilege he could claim was not to be sold as a 
slave ; with others, he was fined heavily. When it was 
said that such proceedings woidd affect the prosperity of 
the country, it was openly avowed that " it was not for 
his majesty's interest that the countiy should thrive." 
" No man coidd say that any thing was his own." 

Andros now demanded of Khode Island her charter, 
but as she did not send it, he went to Providence, and 
breaking the seal of the colony declared its government 
dissolved. He then went with an armed guard to Hart- ^ggp^^ 
ford, and demanded the charter of the colony of Connec- 
ticut. The Assembly was in session. The members 
received him with outward resjject. The discussion of 
the subject was protracted till evening, and when candles 
were Hghted, the charter was brought in and laid on the 
table. As the eager Andros reached forth his hand to 
seize the precious document, the lights were suddenly put 
out ; when they were relighted, the charter was gone. 
Captain William Wads worth had slipped it away and hid 
it in a hoUow tree. Andros, foiled and in a rage, resolved, 
charter or no charter, the jjresent government should 
cease, and taking the book of records of the Assembly, 
he wrote at the end of the last record the word finis. 
The tree in which the charter was hid stood for more than 
a centxiry and a half, and was visited as an object of his- 1856. 
torical interest. It was known as the Charter Oak. A 
few years since, it was blown down in a violent storm. 
Some time before, a lady of Hartford gathered from it an 



180 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, acom, whicli she planted. The good citizens of that place 
'_ obtained from her the young oak, and with appropriate 

1687. ceremonies planted it on the spot where stood the parent 
tree. 

Happily the tyranny of Andros was soon to end. 
James, in liis zeal to promote the introduction of the 
Catholic religion, had aroused against him the entire 
English people. They invited WilUam, Prince of Orange, 
the husband of Mary, the eldest daughter of James, to 
take possession of the throne. After finding that his des- 
potic measures and insincerity had lost him his kingdom, 
James fled, and the Prince of Orange, under the title of 
William III., ascended his vacant throne. 

1688. When the news of that great revolution, which estab- 
^o^- lished the constitutional rights of the English people, 

reached Boston, it excited the greatest joy ; now they 
could rid themselves of the tyrant. Andros imprisoned 
the messenger for spreading false news. The trained 
bands soon assembled in arms. The craven and guilty 
governor, bewildered with fear, fled, with his servile coun- 
cil, to a fort in the town. The aged Simon Bradstreet, 
now more than fourscore, who was one of the original emi- 
grants, and had been a magistrate, was urged to assume 
the office of governor. 

A declaration, said to have been written by Cotton 
Mather, was published, maintaining the rights of the peo- 
ple, in which they commit the enterprise to " Him who 
hears the cry of the oppressed." Andros, in the mean 
time, made an effort to escape ; but he and Dudley, with 
the troublesome Kandolph, were speedily lodged in jad. 
Many were clamorous for their punishment, but generous 
forbearance prevailed, and they were sent to England for 
trial. 

Connecticut, paying little respect to the " Finis " of 
Andros, now brought forth her charter from its hidden 
place, and resumed her former government. Plymouth 



THE MEN OF INFLUENCE. 181 

resumed the constitution framed on board the May- ™^f- 

Flower, and Khode Island her charter. The people of 1 

Massachusetts voted almost unanimously to resume theirs, 1688. 
but a moderate party, consisting of the former magistrates, 
and some of the principal inhabitants, chose rather to 
defer it for the present ; as they hoped to obtain one 
from William, more in accordance with their own yiews. 

The patriarchs who laid the foundation of the New 
England colonies had nearly all passed away ; their places 
were filled by those who had not experienced the trials of 
their fathers, but had learned of them by tradition. The 
Puritans lived in serious times — times that made rugged 
Christians as well as rugged soldiers. They may have 
lacked the gentler graces that adorn those living almost 
two centuries later, and enjoying greater privileges, when 
the combined influence of Christianity, science, and refine- 
ment have produced a more perfect effect. They consci- 
entiously filled their sphere of duty in the age in which 
they lived, and we honor their memories. 

The influence of their ministers was the influence of 
mind upon mind, enhanced by that implicit trust reposed 
in moral worth. They were peculiarly the educated class ; 
the people looked up to them as their spiritual instructors. 
They were the friends of education, and wished to elevate 
the children of their flocks by cultivating their minds, 
and training them for usefulness in the world ; — what 
liigher position for his children could the Puritan desire ? 
In process of time. New England became more inviting 
to men of education belonging to the professions of law 
and medicine. In some respects, the great influence of 
the ministers gradually diminished, not because of dere- 
liction of duty on their part, but because, in temporal 
affairs, especially, the management passed, by degrees, 
into the hands of other men of influence. 



CHAPTEE XVIII. 

COMMOTION IN NEW YORK.— WITCHCRAFT IN MASSACHUSETTS. 

Leisler acting Governor of New York. — The Old Council refuses to yield. — 
Captain Ingoldsby. — Sloughter Governor. — Bitterness of Parties. — Trial 
and Execution of Leisler and Milbourne. — Death of Sloughter. — Fletcher 
Governor ; he goes to Connecticut.— Yale College. — The Triumph of a 
Free Press. — Witchcraft ; belief in. — Cotton Mather. — The Goodwin 
Children. — Various Persons accused at Salem. — Special Court. — Parris 
as Accuser, and Stoughton as Judge. — Minister Burroughs. — Calefs 
Pamphlet. — Revulsion in Public Sentiment. — Mather's stand in favor 
of Inoculation. 

I 

CHAP. Difficulties with royal governors were by no means con- 

J \ fined to New England. The people of New York were 

lg90_ also in commotion, though not so much united, as the 
Dutch had not yet cordially associated in feeling with the 
English. 

James had appointed a Catholic receiver of customs ; 
this annoyed the Protestants, and Nicholson the governor 
1689. was exceedingly unpopular. The military companies went 
"°^ in a body to Jacob Leisler, a respectable and generous- 
hearted merchant, and their senior captain, and urged 
him to take possession of the fort and to assume the man- 
agement of affairs. He consented. Leisler, a Presbyterian 
and a Dutchman, was an enthusiastic admirer of the 
Prince of Orange. The fort and public money were taken, 
and the companies pledged themselves to hold the fort 
"for the present Protestant power that rules in England." 
Leisler was to act as commander-in-chief until orders 
came from King William, to whom a letter was sent giv- 



LEISLER ACTING GOVERNOR. 183 

ing an account of the seizure of the fort and also of the ^^ap. 

money, which was to be expended in building another at 

the lower part of the island, to defend the harbor. 1689. 

As a large majority of the people were in favor of 
Leisler and of the proceedings of the miHtia, Nicholson, 
the governor, thought best to carry his complaints to 
England. The members of his council, claiming to be 
the true rulers of the province, went to Albany, and de- j^^a_ 
nounced Leisler as a " rebel." 

He appointed Milbourne, his son-in-law, secretarj'. 
Afterward the people at Albany, alarmed on account of 
an expected attack from Canada, asked aid from New 
York ; Milbourne was jaromptly sent with a body of men 
to their assistance. But the members of the old council 
refused to acknowledge his authority, or to give him the 
command of the fort. To avoid bloodshed .he returned, 
leaving them to fight the French as they could. In their 
extremity, the Albanians obtained assistance from Con- 
necticut. Presently came a royal letter, directed to Dec. 
" such as for the time being administer affairs." It con- 
tained a commission for Nicholson as governor. As the 
latter was on his way to England, Leisler injudiciously 
proclaimed himself governor by virtue of the letter, and 
still more imprudently ordered the members of the refrac- 
tory council at Albany to be arrested. Meantime an As- 
sembly was called to provide for the wants of the province. 

The letter sent to the king remained unanswered, but 
suddenly an English ship came into the harbor, having on iggi. 
board a Captain Ingoldsby, and a company of soldiers J*°- 
sent by Colonel Henry Sloughter, who had been appointed 
governor. Encouraged by the party opijosed to Leisler, 
Ingoldsby demanded the surrender of the fort. He was 
asked his authority ; as he had none to show, the fort 
was not given up. Six weeks elapsed before Sloughter 
made his appearance ; meanwhile, a collision took place 
between the soldiers and some of the people, and blood 



184 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, was shed. The bitterest party spirit prevailed ; the ene- 

mies of Leisler resolved on revenge ; and when he came 

1691. forward to resign his trust to the regularly appointed gov- 
ernor, he was arrested, and with Milbourne taken to prison. 
ig ' The charge against them was the convenient one of trea- 
son ; their enemies knew that they were as loyal as 
themselves, but it answered their purpose. Immediately 
a special court was called to try the prisoners. They de- 
nied the right of a court thus constituted to try them, 
and refused to plead, but appealed to the king. They 
were, however, condemned, and sentenced to death by the 
degenerate Dudley, who, driven away by the indignant 
jDeople of Massachusetts, now appeared as Chief Justice 
of New York. 

Sloughter was unwilling to order their execution, and 
he determined to leave the matter to the king. But their 
blood, and it alone, could satisfy the intense hatred of 
their enemies. To accomplish their end they took advan- 
tage of one of the numerous failings of the governor. 
They gave him a dinner-party ; when overcome by a free 
indulgence in wine, they induced him to sign the death- 
warrant of the unfortunate men. About daylight the 
next morning, lest Sloughter should recover from his stu- 
por and recall the warrant, Leisler and Milbourne were 
hurried from their weeping families to the gallows. It 
was whispered abroad, and although the rain poured in 
torrents, the sympathizing people hastened in multitudes 
May to the place of execution. Said Milbourne, when he saw 
in the crowd one of their enemies, " Robert Livingston, 
I will implead thee for this at the bar of God." The last 
words of Leisler were : " Weep not for us, who are depart- 
ing to our God." Said Milbourne, " I die for the king 
and queen, and for the Protestant rehgion ; Father, into 
thy hands I commend my spirit." When the execution 
was over, the people rushed forward to obtain some me- 
morial of then- friends — a lock of hair, or a piece of their 



K). 



BENJAMIN FLETCHER AT HARTFORD. 185 

clothing. This judicial murder increased the bitterness ^f^j- 

of party animosity. The friends of the victims were the 

advocates of popular rights, in opposition to the royalists. 1691. 
All that could be was done in time to remedy the wrong. 
Their estates were restored to their families, and Parlia- 
ment reversed the attainder under the charge of treason. 
Dudley even opposed this act of justice. Three months 
after this tragedy, delirium tremens ended the Ufe of the 
weak and dissolute Sloughter. It was about this time 
that the " ancient Dutch usages " gave place to the com- 
plete introduction of English laws. 

A year had elapsed, when Benjamin Fletcher came as 1692. 
successor to Sloughter. He was a military officer, arbi- 
trary and avaricious. His sympatliies were with the ene- 
mies of Leisler. As New York was on the frontiers of 1693. 
Canada, all the colonies were expected to contribute to 
her defence. To make this more effective, an effort was 
made to put the militia of New Jersey and Connecticut, 
as well as that of New York, under the command of 
Fletcher. Accordingly, he went into Connecticut to en- 
force his authority. To give the command of their militia 
to the governor of another colony, was to sacrifice the 
rights of the people under the charter. The Assembly 
was in session at Hartford, and the militia engaged in 
training when Fletcher arrived. He had boasted that he 
" would not set foot out of the colony until he was obeyed." 
When the militia were drawn up, he ordered his secretary 
to read in their hearing his commission. When he com- 
menced to read, the drummers began to beat. " Silence," 
commanded Fletcher. For a moment there was sUence, 
and the reading was renewed. " Drum ! drum ! " ordered 
Wadsworth, the same who, some years before, hid the 
charter. Fletcher once more ordered silence. The sturdy 
captain, stepping up to him, significantly remarked, " If 
I am interrupted again I wLU make daylight shine through 
you." Fletcher thought it best to overlook the insult. 



186 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

^HAP. and return to New York, witliout accomplishing his 

threat. 

1693. More than half a century before, the Kev. John 

Davenport proposed to found a college in the colony of 
Connecticut, but as Harvard would be affected by the 
establishment of a similar institution, the project was 
postponed. Now, the ministers of the colony met at 
Branford, where each one laid upon the table his gift of 
books, accompanied by the declaration, " I give these 
books for the founding a college in this colony." Forty 
volumes were thus contributed. How little did these good 
men, as they made their humble offerings, anticipate the 
importance and influence of the college of which they 
1701. thus laid the foundation. 

The following year the General Court granted a char- 
ter. The professed object of the college was to promote 
theological studies in particular, but afterward so modified 
as to admit of "instructing youth in the arts and sci- 
ences, who may be fitted for public employments, both in 
church and civil state." For sixteen years, its sessions 
were held at different places ; then it was permanently 
located at New Haven. A native of the town, Elihu 
Yale, who had acquired wealth in the East Indies, became 
its benefactor, and in return he has been immortalized in 
its name. 

For forty years succeeding the rule of Fletcher the 
annals of New York are comparatively barren of incident ; 
during that time the province enjoyed the doubtful privi- 
lege of having ten governors, nearly all of whom took 
special care of their own interests and those of their 
friends. The last of this number was the " violent and 
mercenary " WilUam Cosby, who complained to the Board 
of Trade that he could not manage the " delegates " to 
the Assembly ; — " the example of Boston people " had so 
much infected them. 

The city of New York, at this time, contained nearly 



THE LIBERTY OF THE PRESS. 187 

nine thousand inlaabitants. The Weekly Journal, a paper chap. 

recently established by John Peter Zenger, contained ." 

articles condemning the arbitrary acts of the governor 1732. 
and Assembly, in imposmg illegal taxes. This was the 
first time in the colonies the newspapers had dared to 
criticize political measures. This new enemy of arbitrary 
power must be crushed. Governor Cosby, with the appro- 
bation of the council, ordered the paper to be burned by 
the sheriff, imprisoned the editor, and prosecuted him for 
libel. Zenger employed as counsel two lawyers, and they 
denied the authority of the court, because of the illegal 
appointment of the Chief Justice, Delancy, by Cosby, 
without the consent of the Council. For presenting this 
objection their names were promptly struck from the roll 
of practitioners. This high-handed measure intimidated 
the other lawyers, and deterred them from acting as coun- 
sel for the fearless editor. 1733. 

On the day of trial a venerable man, a stranger to 
nearly all present, took his seat at the bar. The trial 
commenced, and much to the surprise of the court, the 
stranger announced himself as counsel for the defendant. 
It was Andrew Hamilton, the famous Quaker lawyer of 
Philadelphia, and speaker of the Assembly of Pennsyl- 
vania. Hamilton proposed to prove the truth of the 
alleged libel, but Delancy, the judge, in accordance with 
English precedents, refused to admit the plea. Then 
Hamilton with great force appealed to the personal 
knowledge of the jury ; — the statements in the paper 
were notoriously true. He showed that the cause was not 
limited to this editor alone ; a principle was involved, 
that affected the liberty of speech and a free press through- 
out the colonies. 

In spite of the charge of the judge to the contrary, 
the jury brought in a verdict of acquittal, which was 
received with rapturous shouts by the people. Thus, for 
the first time, had the press assumed to discuss, and even 



188 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

™AP: condemn political measures, and its liberty to do so was 

amply vindicated. Popular sentiment manifested its grat- 

1733. itude to the successful advocate, and tlie corporation of 
New York conferred upon him the freedom of the city. 

1681. We have now to relate the story of that sad delusion 

so identified with the early history of the quiet and re- 
spectable town of Salem, in Massachusetts. The belief 
in witchcraft appears to have been almost universal in 
the age of which we write. As Christians were in cove- 
nant with God, so, it was believed, witches were in cove- 
nant with the devil ; that he gave them power to torment 
those whom they hated, by pinching them, pricking them 
with invisible pins, pulling their hair, causing their cattle 
and chickens to die, upsetting their carts, and by many 
other annoyances, equally undignified and disagreeable. 
As Christians had a sacrament or communion, witches 
had a communion, also, at which the devil himself offici- 
ated in the form of a " small black man." He had a book 
in which his disciples signed their names, after which they 
renounced their Christian baptism, and were rebaptized, 
or " dipped " bj' himself. To their places of meeting the 
witches usually rode through the air on broomsticks. 

This delusion, absurd as it seems to us, was in that 
age believed by learned and good men, such as Sir Matthew 
Hale, Lord Chief Justice of England ; Kichard Baxter, 
author of the " Saints' Kest ; " and Dr. Isaac Watts, 
whose devotional " Psalms and Hymns " are so familiar 
to the religious world. For this supposed crime many 
had, at different times, been executed in Sweden, Eng- 
land, France, and other countries of Europe. Before the 
excitement at Salem, a few cases in the colony of Massa- 
chusetts had been punished with death. 

As the Bible made mention of witches and sorcerers, — 
to disbelieve in their existence was counted infidelity. 
To disprove such infidelity. Increase Mather, a celebrated 



COTTON MATHER. 189 

clergyman of New England, published an account of the chap. 

cases that had occurred there, and also a description of L 

the manner in which the bewitched persons were afflicted. 1684. 
After this publication, the first case that excited general 
interest was that of a girl named Goodwin. She had ac- 
cused the daughter of an Irish washenvoman of stealing 
some article of clothing. The enraged mother disproved 
the charge, and in addition reproved the false accuser se- 
verely. Soon after, this girl became strangely affected ; 1688. 
her younger brother and sister imitated her " contortions 
and twistings." These children were sometimes dumb, 
then deaf, then blind ; at one time they would bark like 
dogs, at another mew like cats. A physician was called 
in, who gravely decided that they were bewitched, as they 
had many of the symptoms described in Mather's book. 
The ministers became deeply interested in the subject, 
and five of them held a day of fasting and prayer at the 
house of the Goodwins, when lo ! the youngest child, a 
boy of five years of age, was delivered ! As the children 
asserted that they were bewitched by the Irish washer- 
woman, she was arrested. The poor creature was fright- 
ened out of her senses, if she had any, for many thought 
she was " crazed in her intellectuals." She was, how- 
ever, tried, convicted and hanged. 

There was at this time at Boston a young clergyman, 
an indefatigable student, remarkable for his memory and 
for the immense amount of verbal knowledge he possessed ; 
he was withal somewhat vain and credulous, and exceed- 
ingly fond of the marvellous ; no theory seems to have 
been more deeply rooted in his mind than a belief in witch- 
craft. Such was Cotton Mather, son of Increase Mather. 
He became deeply interested in the case of the Goodwin 
children, and began to study the subject with renewed 
zeal ; to do so the more perfectly, he took the girl to his 
home. She was cunning, and soon discovered the weak 
points of his character. She told him he was under a 



190 HISTOET OF THE UNITED STATES. 

™^^- special protection ; that devils, though they tried hard, 

could not enter his study ; that they could not strike 

1688. him ; the blows were warded off by an invisible, friendly 
hand. When he prayed, or read the Bible, she would be 
thrown into convulsions ; while at the same time, she 
read with zest Popish or Quaker books, or the Book of 
Common Prayer. Mather uttered prayers in a variety 
of languages to ascertain if these wicked spirits were 
learned. He discovered that they were skilled in Latin, 
Greek, and Hebrew, but deficient in some Indian tongues. 
He sincerely believed all this, and wrote a book, " a story 
all made up of wonders," to prove the truth of witch- 
craft ; and gave out that, hereafter, if any one should 
deny its existence, he should consider it a personal insult. 
Mather's book was republished in London, with an ap- 
proving preface written by Kichard Baxter. This book 
had its influence upon the minds of the people, and jire- 
pared the way for the sad scenes which followed. 

About four years after the cases just mentioned, two 
young girls, one the niece and the other the daughter of 
Samuel Parris, the minister at Salem village, now Dan- 
vers, began to exhibit the usual signs of being bewitched. 
They seem to have done this at first merely for mischief, 
as they accused no one until compelled. 
1692. Between Parris and some of the members of his con- 

gregation there existed much ill-feeling. Now was the 
time to be revenged ! And this " beginner and procurer 
of the sore afiliction to Salem village and country," in- 
sisted that his niece should tell who it was that bewitched 
her, for in spite of all the efforts to " dehver " them, the 
children continued to practise their pranks. The niece at 
length accused Kebecca Nurse, a woman of exemplary and 
Christian Hfe ; but one with whom Parris was at variance. 
At his instigation she was hurried off to jail. The next 
Sabbath he announced as his text these words : " Have I 
not chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil ? " Imme- 



TRIAL OF WITCHES AT SALEM. 191 

diately Sarah Cloyce, a sister of the accused, arose and left ^vm' 

the church, — in those days, no small offence. She too was 

accused and sent to prison. The excitement spread, and 1092. 
in a few weeks nearly a hundred were accused and re- 
manded for trial. 

After the people had driven off Andros, Bradstreet 
had still continued to act as governor. A new charter leoi. 
was given, under which the governor was to he appointed 
by the crown. Sir William Phipps, a native of New 
England, "an illiterate man, of violent temper, with 
more of energy than ability," was the first governor, and 
William Stoughton the deputy-governor. These both 
obtained their offices through the influence of Increase 
Mather, who was then in England, acting as agent for the 
colony. Stoughton had been the friend of Andros, and a 
member of his council, and, like Dudley, was looked upon 
by the people as their enemy. Of a proud and unforgiv- 
ing temper, devoid of humane feehngs, he was self-willed 
and selfish. The people in a recent election had slighted 
him ; they scarcely gave him a vote for the office of 
judge ; this deeply wounded his pride. In his opinions, 
as to sijirits and witches, he was an implicit follower of 
Cotton Mather, of whose church he was a member. 

The new governor, bringing with him the new charter, 
arrived at Boston on the fourteenth of May. The General 1G92. 
Court alone had authority to appoint Special Courts ; but ^^^ 
the governor's first official act was to apjjoint one to try 
the witches confined in prison at Salem. The triumph 
of Mather was complete ; he rejoiced that the warfare 
with the spirits of darkness was now to be carried on vig- 
orously, and he " prayed for a good issue." 

The Ulegal court met, and Parris acted as prosecutor, 
producing some witnesses and keej)ing back others. The 
prisoners were made to stand with their arms extended, 
lest they should torment their victims. The glance of the 
witch's eye was terrible to the " afflicted ; " for its evU 



192 HISTOEY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, influence there was but one remedy ; tlie touch of the 

accused could alone remove the charm. Abigail Williams, 

1692. the niece of Parris, was told to touch one of the prisoners ; 
she made the attempt, but desisted, screaming out, " My 
fingers, they burn, they burn ! " She was an adept in 
testifying ; she hud been asked to sign the devU's book by 
the spectre of one of the accused women, and she had 
also been permitted to see a witch's sacrament. All this 
was accejjted by the court as true and proper evidence. 
If a witness contradicted himself, it was explained by as- 
suming that the evil spirit had imposed upon his brain. 
A farmer had a servant, who suddenly became bewitched ; 
his master whipped him, and thus exorcised the devU, 
and had the rashness to say that he could cure any of 
" the afllicted " by the same process. For this he soon 
found himself and wife in prison. Eemarks made by the 
, prisoners were often construed to their disadvantage. 
George Burroughs, once a minister at Salem, and of whom 
it is said Parris was envious, had expressed his disbelief in 
witchcraft, and pronounced the whole aifair a delusion. 
For this he was arrested as a wizard. On his trial the 
witnesses pretended to be dumb. " Why," asked the 
stern Stoughton of the prisoner, " are these witnesses 
dumb ? " Burroughs believed they were perjuring them- 
selves, and promptly answered, " The devil is in them, I 
suppose." " Ah ! ah ! " said the exulting judge ; " how 
is it that he is so loath to have any testimony borne against 
you ? " This decided the case ; Burroughs was condemned. 
From the scaffold he made an address to the people, and 
put his enemies to shame. He did what it was believed 
no witch could do ; he repeated the Lord's Prayer dis- 
tinctly and perfectly. The crowd was strongly impressed 
in his favor ; many believed him innocent, and many 
were moved even to tears, and some seemed disposed to 
rescue him ; but Cotton Mather appeared on horseback, 
and harangued the crowd, maintaining that Burroughs 



EEVULSION IN PUBLIC OPINION. 193 

was not a true minister, that lie had not been ordained, ^f^' 

that the fair show he made was no proof of his innocence, 

for Satan himself sometimes appeared as an angel of light. 1692. 

Many of the accused confessed they were witches, and 
by that means j^urchased their lives : and some, to make 
their own safety doubly sure, accused others : thus the 
delusion continued. Then, again, others who had con- 
fessed, rei^ented that they had acknowledged themselves to 
be what they were not, denied their confession, and died 
with the rest. The accusations were at first made against 
those in the humbler walks of life ; now others were ac- 
cused. Hale, the minister at Beverlj', was a believer in 
witchcraft, till his own wife was accused ; then he was 
convinced it was all a delusion. 

Some months elapsed before the General Court held 
its regular session ; in the mean time twenty persons had 
fallen victims, and fifty more were in jirison with the same 
fate hanging over them. Now a great revulsion took 
place in public opinion. This was brought about by a 
citizen of Boston, Robert Calef, who wrote a pamphlet, 
first circulated in manuscript. He exposed the manner 
in which the trials had been conducted, as well as proved 
the absurdity of witchcraft itself Cotton Mather, in his 
reply, sneered at Calef as " a weaver who pretended to 
be a merchant." Calef, not intimidated by this abuse, 
continued to write with great effect, and presently the 
book was published in London. Increase Mather, the 
President of Harvard College, to avenge his son, had the 
" weaver's " book publicly burned in the college yard. 

In the first case brought before the court, the jury 
promptly brought in a verdict of not guilty. When news 
came to Salem of the reprieve of those under sentence, 
the fanatical Stoughton, in a rage, left the bench, ex- 
claiming, " Who it is that obstructs the course of justice 
I know not ; the Lord have mercy on the country." -. 

Not long after, the indignant inhabitants of Salem 1693. 
13 



194 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, drove Parris from their village. Many of those who had 

participated in the dehision, and given their influence in 

1693. favor of extreme measures, deeply repented and publicly 
asked forgiveness of their fellow-citizens. But Cotton 
Mather expressed no regret for the part he had taken, or 
the influence he exerted in increasing the delusion ; his 
vanity never would admit that he could possibly have 
been in error. Instead of being humbled on account of 
the sorrows he had brought upon innocent persons, he la- 
bored to convince the world that, after all, he had not 
been so very active in promoting the delusion. Stoughton 
passed the remainder of his days the same cold, proud, 
and heartless man ; nor did he ever manifest the least 
sorrow, that on such trifling and contradictory evidence, 
he had sentenced to death some of the best of men and 
women. 

It is a pleasure to record that, thirty years after this 
melancholy delusion. Cotton Mather with fearless energy 
advocated the use of inoculation for the prevention of 
1721. small-pox. He had learned that it was successful in Tur- 
key, in arresting or modifying that terrible disease, and 
he persuaded Dr. Boylston to make the experiment. Ma- 
ther stood finn, amid the clamors of the ignorant mob, who 
even threw a lighted grenade filled with combustibles into 
his house, and paraded the streets of Boston, with halters 
in their hands, threatening to hang the inoculators. The 
majority of the physicians opposed inoculation on theo- 
logical grounds, contending, " it was presumptuous for 
men to inflict disease on man, that being the prerogative 
of the Most High." " It was denounced as an infusion of 
malignity into the blood ; a species of poisoning ; an at- 
tempt to thwart God, who had sent the small-pox as a 
punishment for sins, and whose vengeance would thus be 
only provoked the more." Nearly all the ministers were 
in favor of the system, and they replied with arguments 
drawn from medical science. An embittered war of pam- 



INOCULATION IN BOSTON. 195 

phlets ensued. The town authorities took decided ground ^^ap. 

against the innovation, wMle the General Court passed 

a bill prohibiting the practice, but the Council wisely 1721. 
refused to give it their sanction. At lengtli science and 
common sense prevailed, and tlie inoculists completely 
triumphed. 



CHAPTEK XIX. 

MISSIONS AND SETTLEMENTS IN NEW FRANCE. 

The Emigrants few in number. — The Jesuits ; their zeal as Teachers and 
Explorers. — Missions among the Hurons. — Ahasistari. — The Five Na- 
tions, or Iroquois. — Father Jogues. — The Abenakis ; Dreuilettes. — The 
Dangers of the Missions. — French Settlers at Oswego. — James Mar- 
quette. — The Mississippi. — La Salle ; his Enterprise ; his Failure and 
tragical End. 

CHAP. We have already given an account of the discoveries 

^^^' made in New France, and the settlements founded under 

1634. ^^^ direction of Samuel Champlain. We now intend to 

trace the history of these settlements and missions, from 

that period till the time when the Lilies of France were 

supplanted by the Banner of St. George. 

The climate offered but few inducements to cultiva- 
tors of the soil, and emigrants came but slowly ; they 
established trading houses, rather than agricultural settle- 
ments. To accumulate wealth their main resource was 
in the peltries of the wilderness, and these could be ob- 
tained only from the Indians, who roamed over the vast 
regions west and north of the lakes. 

A partial knowledge of the country had been obtained 
from a priest, Father Le Caron, the friend and companion 
of Champlain. He had, by groping through the woods, 
and paddling over the waters his birch-bark canoe, pene- 
trated far up the St. Lawrence, explored the south shore 
of Lake Ontario, and even found his way to Lake Huron. 



THE JESUITS. 197 

Three years before the death of Champlain, Louis ^,^^P- 

XIII. gave a charter to a company, granting them the 

control of the valley of the St. Lawrence and all its trib- 1634. 
utaries. An interest was felt for the poor savages, and it 
was resolved to convert them to the religion of Eome ; — 
not only convert them, but make them the allies of 
France. Worldly pohcy had as much influence as reli- 
gious zeal. It was plain, the only way to found a French 
empire in the New World, was by making the native 
tribes subjects, and not by transplanting Frenchmen. 

The missions to the Indians were transferred to the 
supervision of the Jesuits. This order of priests was 
founded expressly to counteract the influence of the 
Keformation under Luther. As the Reformers favored 1534. 
education and the diffusion of general intelligence, so the 
Jesuit became the advocate of education — provided it was 
under his own control. He resolved to rule the world by 
influencing its rulers ; he would govern by intellectual 
power and the force of opinion, rather than by supersti- 
tious fears. He endeavored to turn the princii^les of the 
Eeformation against itself. His vows enjoined upon him 
perfect obedience to the will of his superior, — to go on 
any mission to which he might be ordered. No clime so 
deadly that he would not brave its danger ; no people so 
savage that he would not attempt their conversion. 

With their usual energy and zeal, the Jesuits began 
to explore the wilds of New France, and to bring its 
wilder inhabitants under the influence of the Catholic 
faith. To the convert was offered the privileges of a 
subject of France. From this sprang a social equality, 
friendly relations were estabhshed, and intermarriages took 
place between the traders and the Indian women. 

Companies of Hurons, who dwelt on the shores of the 
lake which bears their name, were on a trading expedition 
to Quebec. On their return home the Jesuits Brebeuf 
and Daniel accompanied them. They went up the Ot- 



198 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, tawa till they came to its largest western branch, thence 

'_ to its head waters, and thence across the wilderness to 

1634. their villages on Georgian bay and Lake Simcoe. The faith 
and zeal of these two men sustained them during their 
toilsome journey of nine hundred mUes, and though their 
feet were lacerated and their garments torn, they rejoiced 
in their sufferings. Here in a grove they built, with their 
own hands, a Kttle chapel, in which they celebrated the 
ceremonies of their church. The Eed Man came to hear 
the morning and evening prayers ; though in a language 
which he could not understand, they seemed to him to be 
addressed to the Great Spirit, whom he himself wor- 
shipped. Six missions were soon established in the villages 
around these lakes and bays. Father Brebeuf spent four 
hours of every morning in private prayer and self-flagel- 
lations, the rest of the day in catechizing and teaching. 
Sometimes he would go out into the village, and as he 
passed along would ring his little bell and thus invite the 
grave warriors to a conference, on the mysteries of his 
religion. Thus he labored for fifteen years. 

These teachings had an influence on the susceptible 
heart of the great Huron chief Ahasistari. He professed 
himself a convert and was baptized. Often as he escaped 
uninjured from the perils of battle, he thought some pow- 
erful spirit watched over him, and now he believed that 
the God whom the white man worshipped was that guar- 
dian spirit. In the first fiush of his zeal he exclaimed : 
" Let us strive to make all men Christians." 

Thousands of the sons and daughters of the forest 
listened to instruction, and the story of their willingness 
to hear, when told in France, excited a new interest. The 
king and queen and nobles vied with each other in mani- 
festing their regard by giving encouragement and aid to 
the missionaries, and by presents to the converts. A col- 
lege, to educate men for these missions, was founded at 
Quebec, two years before the founding of Harvard. Two 



THE FIVE NATIONS. 199 

years afterward the Ursuline convent was founded at ^^^■ 

Montreal for the education of Indian girls, and three 

young nuns came from France to devote themselves to 1635. 
that labor. They were received with demonstrations of 
joy by the Hurons and Algonquins. Montreal was now 
chosen as a more desirable centre for missionary operations. 

The tribes most intelligent and powerful, most war- 
like and cruel, with whom the colonists came in contact, 
were the Mohawks, or Iroquois, as the French named 
them. They were a confederacy consisting of five nations, 
the Senecas, the Oneidas, the Onondagas, the Cayugas, 
and the Mohawks — better known to the English by the 
latter name. This confederacy had been formed in ac- 
cordance with the counsels of a great and wise chief, 1539. 
Hiawatha. Their traditions tell of him as having been 
specially guided by the Great Spirit, and that amid strains 
of unearthly music, he ascended to heaven in a snow- 
white canoe. They inhabited that beautiful and fertile 
region in Central New York, where we find the lakes and 
rivers still bearing their names. 

Their territory lay on the south shore of Lake Ontario, 
and extended to the head-waters of the streams which 
flow into the Chesapeake and Delaware bays, and also to 
the sources of the Ohio. These streams they used as 
highways in their war incursions. They pushed their con- 
quests up the lakes and down the St. Lawrence, and 
northward almost to the frozen regions around Hudson's 
bay. They professed to hold many of the tribes of New 
England as tributary, and extended their influence to the 
extreme east. They made incursions down the Ohio 
against the Shawnees, whom they drove to the Carolinas. 
They exercised dominion over the lUinois and the Miamis. 
They were the inveterate enemies of the Hurons, and a 
terror to the French settlements — especially were they 
hostile to the missions. In vain the Jesuits strove to 
teach them ; French influence could never penetrate 



200 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, south of Ontario. The Mohawks closely watched the 

passes of the St. Lawrence, and the intercourse hetween 

1635. the missionaries stationed on the distant lakes and their 
head-quarters at Montreal was interrupted, unless they 
travelled the toilsome route by the Ottawa and the wil- 
derness beyond. 
1642. An expedition from the lakes had slipped through to 

Quebec, and now it endeavored to return. As the fleet 
approached the narrows, suddenly the Mohawks attacked 
it ; most of the Frenchmen and Hurons made for the op- 
posite shore. Some were taken prisoners, among whom 
was Father Jogues. The noble Ahasistari, from his 
hiding-place, saw his teacher was a prisoner ; he knew 
that he would be tortured to death, and he hastened to 
him : " My brother," said he, " I made oath to thee, that 
I would share thy fortune, whether death or life ; here I 
am to keep my vow." He received absolution at the 
hands of Jogues, and met death at the stake in a manner 
becoming a great warrior and a faithful convert. 

Father Jogues was taken from place to place ; in each 
village he was tortured and compelled to run the gauntlet. 
His fellow-priest, Goupil, was seen to make the sign of 
the cross on the forehead of an infant, as he secretly bap- 
tized it. The Indians thought it a charm to kill their 
children, and instantly a tomahawk was buried in the 
poor priest's head. The Dutch made great efforts, but 
in vain, to ransom Jogues, but after some months of cap- 
tivity he made his escape to Fort Orange, where he was 
gladly received and treated with great kindness by the 
Dominie Megapolensis. Jogues went to France, but in a 
few years he was again among his tormentors as a messen- 
ger of the gosj)el ; ere long a blow from a savage ended 
his life. A similar fate was experienced by others. Father 
Bressani was driven from hamlet to hamlet, sometimes 
scourged by all tlie inhabitants, and tortured in eveiy pos- 



INDIAN MISSIONS. 201 

Bible form which savage ingenuity could invent, — yet he •^^^P- 
survived, and was at last ransomed by the Dutch. 

The Abenakis of Maine sent messengers to Montreal 1642. 
asking missionaries. They were granted, and Father 
Dreuilettes made his way across the wilderness to the 
Penobscot, and a few miles above its mouth established a 
mission. The Indians came to him in great numbers. 
He became as one of themselves, he hunted, he fished, he 
taught among them, and won their confidence. He gave 
a favorable report of the place, and the disposition of the 
tribes, and a permanent Jesuit mission was there estab- 
lished. On one occasion Father Dreuilettes visited the 
Apostle Eliot at Koxbury. The noble and benevolent 
work in which they were engaged, served in the minds of 
these good men to soften the asperities existing between 
the Catholic and the Puritan, and they bid each other 
God speed. 

At this time there were sixty or seventy devoted mis- 1646. 
sionaries among the tribes extending from Lake Superior 
to Nova Scotia. But they did not elevate the character 
of the Indian ; he never learned to till the soil, nor to 
dwell in a fixed abode ; he was still a rover in the mde, 
free forest, living by the chase. The Abenakis, like the 
Hurons, were wilUng to receive religious instructions ; they 
learned to chant matins and vespers, they loved those 
who taught them. It is not for us to say how many of 
them received into their hearts a new faith. 

The continued incursions of the ferocious Mohawks 
kept these missions in peril. Suddenly one morning they 
attacked the mission of St. Joseph on Lake Simcoe, 
founded, as we have seen, by Brebeuf and Daniel. The 
time chosen was when the warriors were on a hunting ex- 
cursion, and the helpless old men, women, and children 
fell victims to savage treachery. The aged priest Daniel, 
at the first war-cry, hastened to give absolution to all the i648. 
converts he could reach, and then calmly advanced from 



202 HISTOKY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, the chapel ia the face of the murderers. He fell pierced 

with many arrows. These marauding expeditions broke 

1648. uj) nearly all the missions in Upper Canada. The Hu- 
rons were scattered, and their country became a hunting- 
ground for their inveterate enemies. 

Many of the Huron converts were taken prisoners and 
adopted into the tribes of the Five Nations. Some years 
1661. after, when a treaty was made between those nations and 
the French, the presence of these converts excited hopes 
that they would receive Jesuit teachers. A mission was 
established among the Onondagas, and Oswego, their prin- 
cipal village, was chosen for the station. In a year or 
two missionaries were laboring among the other tribes of 
the confederacy. But the French, who had an eye to se- 
curing that fertile region, sent fifty colonists, who began 
a settlement at the mouth of the Oswego. The jealousy 
of the Indians was excited ; they compelled the colonists 
to leave their country, and with them drove away the 
missionaries. Thus ended the attempts of the French to 
possess the soil of New York. 

The zeal of the Jesuits was not diminished by these 
untoward misfortunes ; they still continued to prosecute 
their labors among the tribes who would receive them. 
Away beyond Lake Superior one of their number lost his 
way in the woods and perished, and the wild Sioux kept 
his cassock as an amulet. Into that same region the un- 
daunted Father AUouez penetrated ; there, at the largest 
town of the Chippewas, he found a council of the chiefs 
of many different tribes. They were debating whether 
they should take up arms against the powerful and war- 
like Sioux. He exhorted them to peace, and urged them 
1666. ^^ P^'^ i"^ alliance with the French against the Iroquois ; 
he also promised them trade, and the protection of the 
great king of the French. Then he heard for the first 
time of the land of the lUinois, where there were no trees, 
but vast plains covered with long grass, on which grazed 



JAMES MARQUETTE. 203 

innumerable herds of buffalo and deer. He heard of the ^I^^P- 

wild rice, and of the fertile lands which produced an 

abundance of maize, and of regions where copper was ob- 1669. 
tained, — the mines so famous in our own day. He learned, 
too, of the great river yet farther west, which flowed 
toward the south, whither, his informants could not tell. 
After a sojourn of two years AUouez returned to Quebec, 
to implore aid in establishing missions in that hopeful 
field. He stayed only to make known his request ; in two 
days, he was on his way back to his field of labor, accom- 
panied by only one companion. 

The next year came from France another company of 
priests, among whom was James Marquette, who repaired 
immediately to the missions on the distant lakes. Ac- 
companied by a priest named Joliet, and five French 
boatmen, with some Indians as guides and interpreters, 
Marquette set out to find the great river, of which he had 
heard so much. The company passed up the Fox river 
in two birch-bark canoes ; they carried them across the 
portage to the banks of the Wisconsin, down which they 
floated, tni at length their eyes were gratified by the sight 
of the " Father of Waters." 1670. 

They coast along its shores, Uned with primeval for- 
ests, swarming with all kinds of game ; the prairies redo- 
lent with wild flowers ; — all around them is a waste of 
grandeur and of beauty. After floating one hundred and 
eighty miles they meet with signs of human beings. They 
land, and find, a few miles distant, an Indian village ; here 
they are welcomed by a people who speak the language 
of their guides. They are told that the great river ex- 
tends to the far south, where the heat is deadly, and that 
the great monsters of the river destroy both men and 
canoes. 

Nothing daunted they pass on, and ere long they reach 
the place where the turbid and rapid Missouri plunges 
into the tranquil and clear Mississippi. " When I return," 



204 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

c^^. says Marquette, " I will ascend that river and pass beyond 

its head-waters and proclaim the gospel." Further on 

1670. they see a stream flowing from the north-east ; — it is the 
Ohio, of which the Iroquois have told them. We can 
imagine Marquette, noticing the fertility of the soil, 
looking with awe upon the dark and impenetrable forests, 
and hoping that in future ages these shores would be the 
homes of many millions of civilized and Christian men. 

As they went on they approached a warmer climate ; 
and now they were sure that the great river flowed into 
the Gulf of Mexico, and not into that of California, as 
had been supposed. They met with Indians who showed 
them tools of European manufacture ; obtained either 
from the English of Virginia or from the Spaniards fur- 
ther south. It was deemed prudent to return, as they 
might fall into tlie hands of the latter, and thus be de- 
prived of the privilege of making known their discovery. 
At the mouth of the Arkansas they began the toilsome 
labor of paddling their canoes up the stream down which 
they had so easily floated. They reached the mouth of the 
Illinois ; thinking it would lead them to the lakes, they 
jjassed up that river to its head-waters, and thence across 
to Lake Michigan. 

Joliet immediately set out to cany the news of the 
discovery to Quebec. Marquette was desirous to liegin 
his work, and he chose to remain in the humble station of 
a missionary in the wilderness. One day he retired to his 
private devotions, at a simple altar he had erected in a 
grove. An hour afterward he was found kneeUng beside 
it ; his prayers and his labors for the good of the poor In- 
dian were ended ; — in that hour of quiet retirement his 
spirit had passed away. 

Among the adventurers who came to Canada to seek 
their fortunes, was Eobert Cavalier de la Salle, a young 
man who had been educated as a Jesuit, but had re- 
nounced the order. A large domain at the outlet of Lake 



ENTEEPRISE OF LA SALLE — LOUISIANA. 205 

Ontario was granted him on condition that he would main- chap. 

tain Fort Frontenac, now Kingston. But his main olDJect '_ 

was to obtain the entire trade of the Iroquois. The news 1675. 
of the discovery of the great river inflamed his ardent mind 
with a desire to make settlements on its banks, and thus 
secure its vast vaUey for his king. Leaving his lands and 
his herds, he sailed for France, and there obtained a favora- i677. 
ble grant of privileges. He returned, passed up to Lake 
Erie, at the foot of which he built a vessel of sixty tons, in 
which, with a company of sailors, hunters, and priests, he 
passed through the straits to the upper lakes, and an- 
chored in Green Bay. There, lading his ship with a cargo jg^g 
of precious furs, he sent her to Niagara, with orders to Aug. 
return as soon as possible with suppUes. Meanwhile he 
passed over into the valley of the Illinois, and on a bluff 
by the river side, near where Peoria now stands, built a 
fort, and waited for his shij) ; but he waited in vain ; she 
was wrecked on the voyage. 

After three years of toils, wanderings in the wilder- 
ness, and voyages to France, during which he experienced 
disappointments that would have broken the spirit of an 
ordinary man, we find him once more on the banks of the 
Illinois. Now he built a barge, on board of which, with 1682. 
his companions, he floated down to the Mississippi, and ■'^P'"'' 
thence to the Gulf. Thus were his hopes, after so much 
toil and sacrifice, realized. He had triumphantly traced 
the mighty stream to its mouth. He remained only to 
take possession of the country in the name of his sovereign, 
Louis XIV., in honor of whom he named it Louisiana. 

La Salle returned to Quebec, and immediately sailed 
for France. He desired to carry into efiiect his great de- 
sign of planting a colony at the mouth of the Mississippi. 
The enterprise was looked upon with favor by both the 
French people and the king. He was furnished with an 
armed frigate and three other vessels, and two hundred i684. 
and eighty persons to form a colony. One hundred of 



206 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, these were soldiers ; of the remainder, some were volun- 
1 teers, some mechanics, and some priests. Unfortunately, 

1684. the command of the ships was given to Beaujeu, a man 
as ignorant as he was self-willed and conceited. After 
surmounting many difficulties, they entered the Gulf of 
Mexico, but missed the mouth of the Mississippi. La 

1685. Salle soon discovered the error, but the stubborn Beaujeu, 
deaf to reason, sailed on directly west, till fortunately ar- 
rested by the eastern shore of Texas. La Salle deter- 
mined to disembark and seek by land the mouth of the 
great river. The careless pUot ran the store-ship on the 
breakers ; suddenly a stonn arose, and very little was saved 
of the abundance which Louis had provided for the enter- 
prise. It is said that he gave more to aid this one colony 
than the English sovereigns combined gave to all theirs in 
North America. 

As the ships were about to leave them on that desolate 
shore, many became discouraged, and returned home. 
The waters in the vicinity abounded in fish, and the for- 
ests in game, and with a mild climate and productive soil, 
there was no danger from starvation. A fort was built in 
a suitable place ; the trees of a grove three miles distant 
furnished the material, which they dragged across the 
prairie. La Salle explored the surrounding country, but 
sought in vain for the Mississippi. On his return to the 
fort, he was grieved to find his colony reduced to forty per- 
sons, and they disheartened and mutinous. He did not 
despair ; he would yet accomjilish the darling object of his 
ambition ; he would thread his way through the wilder- 
ness to Canada, and induce colonists to join him. With 
1687. a company of sixteen men he commenced the journey ; 
they travelled two months across the prairies west of the 
Mississippi ; but the hopes that had cheered his heart 
amidst hardsliips and disappointments were never to be 
realized. Two of his men, watching their opportunity, 
murdered him. Thus perished Eobert Cavalier de la 



DEATH OF LA SALLE. 207 

Salle, assassinated in the -wilderness by his own country- chap. 

men. He was the first to fully appreciate the importance L 

of securing to France the two great valleys of this conti- 1687. 
nent. His name will ever be associated with his unsuc- 
cessful enterprise, and his tragical fate will ever excite a 
feeling of sympathy. Ketribution was not long delayed ; 
his murderers, grasping at spoils, became involved in a 
quarrel with their companions, and both i^erished by the 
hand of violence. 

The remainder of the company came upon a tributary 
of the Mississippi, down which they passed to its mouth, 
where their eyes were greeted by a cross, and the arms of 
France engraved upon a tree. This had been done by 
Tonti, a friend of La Salle, who had descended from the 
Illinois, but in despair of seeing him had returned. The 
colony of Texas perished without leaving a memento of its 
existence. 



CHAPTEK XX. 

MARAUDING EXPEDITIONS; SETTLEMENT OP LOUISIANA ; CAPTURE 
OF LOUISBURG. 

Mohawks hostile to the French. — Dover attacked ; Major Waldron. — Sche- 
nectady captured and burned. — The inhuman Fronteuac.^Tlie Colonists 
act for themselves. — Invasion of Canada. — Settlements in Maine aban- 
doned. — Heroism of Hannah Dustin. — Deerfield taken ; Eunice Wil- 
liams. — D'lbberville plants a Colony on the Pascagoula. — Trading Posts 
on the lUinois and the Mississippi. — The Choctaws ; the Natchez ; at- 
tempts to subdue the Chickasaws. — King George's War. — Capture of 
Louisburg. — The English Ministry alarmed. — Jonathan Edwards. — The 
" Great Revival." — Princeton College. 

CHAP. Peace had continued for some time between the Five Na- 

XX 

tions and the French, but now the former were suspicious 

1685. of the expeditions of La Salle. James II. had instructed 
Dongan, the Catholic governor of New York, to conciliate 
the French, to influence the Mohawks to receive Jesuit 
missionaries, and to quietly introduce the Catholic rehgion 
into the colony. But Dongan felt more interest in the 
fur trade, which the French seemed to be monopolizing, 
than in Jesuit missions among the Mohawks, and he 
rather encouraged the latter in their hostility. An act of 
treachery increased this feeling. Some of their chiefs, 
who were enticed to enter Fort Frontenac, were seized and 
forcibly carried to France, and there made slaves. 

When the indignant people of England drove the 

bigoted James from his throne and invited William of 

1688. Orange to fill it, Louis XIV. took up the quarrel in behalf 

of James, or of legitimacy, as he termed it. He believed 



DOVER BURNKD MAJOR WALDRON. 209 

in the divine right of kings to rule, and denied the right chap. 

of a j^eople to change their form of government. Louis 

had for years greatly abused his power, and all Europe had 1688. 
suffered from his rapacity. Religious feeling exerted its 
influence in giving character to the war, and Protestant 
Holland joined heart and hand with Protestant England 
in opposing Catholic France. 

Though the colonies were thus involved in war by the 
mother countries, they had different ends in view. The 
New Englanders had an eye to the fisheries and the pro- 
tection of their northern frontiers ; the French wished to 
extend their influence over the valleys of the St. Lawrence 
and the Mississij)pi, and to monopolize the fisheries as well 
as the fur-trade. The latter object could be obtained only 
by the aid of the Indians, and they were untiring in their 
efforts to make them friends. They could never conciliate 
the Mohawks, nor iuduce them to join in an invasion of 
New York. On the contraiy, fifteen hundred of them 
suddenly appeared before Montreal, and in a few days cap- 
tured that place, and committed horrible outrages upon 
the people. 

Thus stood matters when Frontenac, for the second 1689. 
time, appeared as governor of New France. To make the 
savages respect him as a warrior, he set on foot a series of 
incursions against the English colonies. The eastern In- 
dians were incited to attack Dover in New Hampshire ; — 
incited by the French, and also by a cherished desire for 
revenge. There, at the head of the garrison, was that 
Major Waldron who, thirteen years before, during King 
Philip's war, had treacherously seized two hundred of 
their friends, who came to him to treat of peace. He had 
proposed to these unsuspecting Indians a mock fight by 
way of entertainment ; when their guns were all discharged 
he made them prisoners and sent them to Boston. Some 
of them were hanged, and others sold into slavery. The 
Indians in their turn employed stratagem and treachery. 
14 



210 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. Two squaws came to Dover ; they asked of the aged 
Waldron, now fourscore, a night's lodging. In the night 

1689. they arose, unbarred the gates, and let in their friends, 
who lay in ambush. Their hour for vengeance had come ; 
they made the pangs of death as bitter as possible to the 
brave old Waldron ; his white hairs claimed from them no 
pity. In derision, they placed him in a chair on a table, 
and scored his body with gashes equal in number to theii- 
friends he had betrayed ; they jeeringly asked him, " Who 
will judge Indians now ? Who will hang our brothers ? 
WiU the pale-faced Waldron give us life for life ? " ' 
They burned all the houses, murdered nearly half the in- 
habitants, and carried the remainder into captivity. 

This was only the beginning of a series of horrors 
inflicted upon the frontier towns. The inhabitants of 
Schenectady, as they slept in fancied sccuritj', were star- 
tled at midnight by the terrible war-whoop of the savage, 
— the harbinger of untold horrors. The enemy found easy 

1690. access, as the gates of the palisades were open. The 
^^- houses were set on fire, more than sixty persons were 

killed, and many helpless women and children were carried 
into captivity. A few escajjed and fled half clad through 
the snow to Albany. This attack was made by a party 
of French and Indians from Montreal, who had toiled for 
twenty-two days through the snows of winter, breaking 
the track with snow-shoes, and using, when they could, 
the frozen streams as a pathway. At Salmon Falls, on 
the Piscataqua, and at Casco, similar scenes were enacted. 
Such were the means the inhuman Frontenac, now 
almost fourscore, took to inspire terror in the minds of the 
English colonists, and to acquire the name of a great war- 
rior among the Indians, — they would follow none but a 
successful leader. Among the early Jesuit missionaries 
who taught the Indians of New France, there were un- 

>New England History, C. W. ElUott. 



EXPEDITIONS AGAINST CANADA. 211 

donbtedly many good men. The priests of that generation chap. 

had passed away, and others had taken their places ; 

these incited the recently converted savage, not to prac- 1690. 
tise Christian charity and love, hut to pillage and murder 
the heretical EngUsh colonist. 

King William was husy in maintaining his own cause 
in England, and left the colonists to defend themselves. 
Massachusetts proposed that they should combine, and re- 
move the cause of their trouble by conquering Canada. 
Commissioners from Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New 
York met to deliberate on what course to pursue. They 
resolved to invade that province from New York, by way 
of Lake Champlain, and from Massachusetts by way of the 
St. Lawrence. The expedition from New York failed. 
Colonel Peter Schuyler led the advance with a company 
of Mohawks, but the ever-watchful Frontenac was pre- 
pared ; his Indian allies flocked in crowds to aid him in 
defending Montreal. The Mohawks were repulsed and 
could not recover their position, as the army sent to sup- 
port them was compelled to stop short ; the small-pos 
broke out among the soldiers, and they were in want of 
provisions. 

Meantime, the fleet of thirty-two vessels, and two 
thousand men, which had sailed from Boston, was endeav- 
oring to find its way up the St. Lawrence. It was under 
the command of Sir William Phipps, to whose incompe- 
tency may be attributed the failure of the enterprise. An 
Indian runner cut across the woods from Piscataqua, and 
in twelve days brought the news of the intended attack 
to the French. Frontenac hastened to Quebec, where he 
arrived three days before the fleet. When it came in 
sight he was prepared to make a vigorous defence. A 
party landed, but after some skirmishing the enterprise 
was abandoned. While returning, the men suffered much 
from sickness, and storms disabled the fleet. The disap- 
pointment of the people of Massachusetts was veiy great ; 



212 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, many lives liad been lost, and the colony was laden with 

^' debt. 

1690. The Eastern Indians, in the mean time, were held in 

check by Captain Church, celebrated in King Pliilip's 
war. At one time, he so far forgot himself as to put to 
death his prisoners, some of whom were women and chil- 
dren. Such cruelty was inexcusable ; and it was avenged 
by the savages with tenfold fury. Nearly all the settle- 
ments of what is now Maine were destroyed or abandoned. 
The enemy were continually prowling around the Hxrms, 
watching an opportunity to shoot the men at their work. 
All went anned, and even the women learned to handle 
eifectively the musket and the rifle. It was a great in- 
ducement for the Indians to go on these marauding expe- 
ditions, because they could sell for slaves to the French 
of Canada the women and chUdrcu they took prisoners. 

Peace was at length made with the Abenakis, or East- 
ern Indians, and there was a luU in the storm of desola- 
tion. It lasted but a year, the Indians broke the treaty. 
They were incited to this by their teachers, two Jesuits, 
Thury and Bigot, who even took pride in their atrocious 
work. 

1694. Heroic deeds were performed by men and women. A 

small band of Indians attacked the house of a farmei 
named Dustin, near Haverhill. When in the fields he 
heard the war-whoop and the cry of distress. He hastened 
to the rescue, met liis children, and threw himself be- 
tween them and their pursuers, whom he held at bay by 
well-directed shots till the children were in a place of 
safety. His house was burned ; a child only a few days 
old was dashed against a tree, and his wife, Hannah Dus- 
tin, and her nurse, were carried away captive. A toilsome 
march brought them to an island in the Merrimac, just 
above Concord, where their captors lived. There Mrs. 
Dustin, with the nurse and a boy, also a captive, planned 
an escape. She wished revenge, as well as to be secure 



DEEKFIELD DESTROYED EUNICE WILLIAMS. 213 

from pursuit. The Indians, twelve in number, were asleep. <^hap. 

She arose, assigned to each of her companions whom to 

strike ; their hands were steady and their hearts firm ; 1694. 
they struck for their lives. Ten Indians were kUled, one 
woman was wounded, and a child was purposely saved. 
The heroic woman wished to preserve a trophy of the deed, 
and she scalped the dead. Then in a canoe the three 
floated down the Merrimac to Haverhill, much to the 
astonishment of their friends, who had given them up for 
lost. Such were the toils and sufferings, and such the 
heroism of the mothers in those days. 

The friendly Mohawks had intimated to the inhabi- 
tants of Deerfield, in the vaUey of the Connecticut, that 
the enemy was plotting their destmction. The anxiety 
of the people was very great, and they resolved during the 
winter to keep a strict watch ; sentinels were placed every 
night. 

On an intensely cold night in February a company of 1704. 
two hundred Frenchmen, and one hundred and forty In- 
dians, lay in ambush, waiting a favorable moment to 
spring upon their victims. Under the command of Hertel 
de RouviUe, they had come all the way from Canada, on 
the crust of a deep snow, with the aid of snow-shoes. The 
sentinels, unconscious of danger, retired at dawn of day. 
The snow had drifted as liigh as the palisades, thus ena- 
bling the party to pass within the inclosure, which con- 
sisted of twenty acres. The terrible war-cry startled the 
inhabitants, the houses were set on fire, and forty-seven 
persons were ruthlessly murdered ; one hundred and 
twelve were taken captive, among whom were the minister 
WOliams, his wife, and five children. No pen can de- 
scribe the sufierings of the captives on that dreary winter's 
march, driven, as they were, by relentless Frenchmen and 
savages. Eunice WiUiams, the wife, drew consolation 
from her Bible, which she was permitted to read when 
the party stopped for the night. Her strength soon faded ; 



214 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

^HAP. her husband cheered her by pointing her to the " house 

not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." " The 

1704. mother's heart rose to her lips, as she commended her five 
captive children, under God, to their father's care, and 
then one blow of the tomahawk ended her sorrows." This 
family, with the exception of one daughter, seven years of 
age, were aftei-ward ransomed, and returned home. 

Many years after tliis, there appeared at Deei-field a 
white woman wearing the Indian garb ; she was the lost 
daughter of Eunice "Williams, and now a Catholic, and 
the wife of an Indian chief No entreaties could influence 
her to remain with her civilized relatives ; she chose to re- 
turn and end her days w'itli her own children. 

Humanity shudders at the recital of the horrors that 
marked those days of savage warfare. Some of the Indians 
eyen refused to engage any more in thus murdering the 
English colonists ; but the infamous Hertel, with the ap- 
probation of Vaudreuil, then governor of Canada, induced 
a party to accompany him on a foray. Why repeat the 
story of the fiendish work, by which the little village of 
Haverhill, containing about thirty log-cabins, was burned, 
and all the inhabitants either murdered or taken captive. 
1708. u jjy heart swells with indignation," wrote Colonel Peter 
Schuyler, of New York, to Vaudreuil, " when I think that 
a war between Christian princes, is degenerating into a 
savage and a boundless butchery ; I hold it my duty to- 
ward God and my neighbor, to prevent, if possible, these 
barbarous and heathen cruelties." This reproof was un- 
heeded ; the cruelties continued. 

Under the feelings excited by such outrages, can we 
think it strange that the colonists resolved to hunt the 
Indians like wild beasts, and offered a bounty for their 
scalijs ? or that the hostility against the French Jesuit 
should have thrown suspicion upon the Catholic of Mary- 
land, who about this time was disfranchised ? or that even 



LEMOINE d'IBBERVILLE. 215 

in liberal Ehode Island, he should have been deprived chap. 

of the privilege of becoming a freeman ? '_ 

With renewed energy the French began to press for- 1708. 
ward their great design of uniting, by means of trading 
posts and missions, the region of the Lakes and the valley 
of the Mississippi. The Spaniards had possession of the 
territory on the northern shore of the Gulf of Mexico, 
whUe they claimed the entire regions lying around that 
expanse of water. 

The energetic mind of Lemoine d'Ibberville conceived 
a plan for planting a colony at the mouth of the Missis- 
sippi. He was a native of Canada, and had, on many 
occasions, distinguished himself by his talents and great 
courage. Hopes were entertained of his success. The 
expedition, consisting of four vessels and nearly two hun- 
dred colonists, among whom were some women and chil- 
dren, sailed from Canada for the mouth of the Mississippi. i690. 
D'Ibberville entered the Gulf and approached the north 
shore, landed at the mouth of the river Pascagoula, and 
with two barges and forty-eight men went to seek the 
great river. He found it by following uj) a current of 
muddy waters, in which were many floating trees. He 
passed up the stream to the mouth of Red River, where 
he was surprised to receive a letter dated fourteen years 
before. It was from Tonti ; he had left it with the In- 
dians for La SaUe ; they had preserved it carefully, and 
gave it to the first Frenchman who visited them. 

As the shores of the Mississipj)i in that region are 
marshy, it was thought best to form a settlement on the 
Gulf at the mouth of the Pascagoula. This was the first 
colony planted ■wdthin the limits of the present State of 
Mississippi. D'IbbervUle sailed for France to obtain sup- 
plies and more colonists, leaving one of his brothers, Sau- 
ville, to act as governor, and the other, Bienville, to 
engage in exploring the countiy and river. 

Some fifty mUes up the Mississippi Bienville met an 



216 HISTOBY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. English ship sent on the same errand. Seventy years 

before, Charles I. had given to Sir Eobert Heath a grant 

1630. of Carolina, which as iisual was to extend to the Pacific. 
This wortliless grant Coxe, a London physician, had pur- 
chased, and to him belonged this vessel. 

From the time of La Salle the Jesuits had been busy 
ingratiating themselves with the tribes along the shores of 
the Mississippi, and under their direction trading posts 
were established, at various points, to the mouth of the 
Illinois, and up that river to the Lakes. 
1700. The following year D'Ibbervillo returned with two 

ships and sixty colonists, and the aged Tonti liad just ar- 
rived from the Illinois. Avaihng himself of his counsel, 
D'Ibberville ascended the river four hundred miles, and on 
a bluff buUt a fort, which, in honor of the Duchess of 
Pontchartrain, was called Eosalie. These settlements lan- 
guished for twenty years ; the colonists were mere hire- 
lings, imfitted for their work. The whole number of 
emigrants for ten years did not exceed two hundred per- 
sons. Instead of cultivating the soil, and making their 
homes comfortable, many went to the far west seeking for 
gold, and others to the north-west on the same errand, 
while fevers and other diseases were doing the work of 
death. Meantime Mobile became the centre of French 
influence in the south. 

Once more a special effort was made to occupy the 
territory, and a monopoly of trade was granted to Arthur 
1714. Crozart, who was to send every year two ships laden with 
merchandise and emigrants, and also a cargo of slaves from 
Africa. The French government was to appropriate an- 
nually about ten thousand dollars to defray the expense 
of forts and necessary protection. 

A trading house was established up the Ked Kiver at 
Natchitoches, and one up the Alabama near the site of 
Montgomery ; Fort Kosalie became a centre of trade, and 



FOUNDING OF NEW ORLEANS. 217 

the germ of tlie present city of Natchez — the oldest town chap. 
on the Mississippi. . 

Bienville put the convicts to work on a cane-brake to 1718. 
remove the trees and shrubs " from a savage and desert 
place," and built a few huts. Such were the feeble begin- 
nings of New Orleans, which it was prophesied would 
yet become " a rich city, the metropolis of a great colony." 
Still the colony did not prosper ; instead of obtaining 
their supplies from that fruitful region, they were depend- 
ent on France and St. Domingo. Labor was irksome to 
the convicts and vagabonds, and the overflowings of the 
river, and the unhealthiness of the climate retarded prog- 
ress. The chief hope for labor was based on the impor- 
tation of negroes from Africa. 

Some German settlers, who, a few years before, had 
been induced by one Law, a great stock-jobbing and land 
speculator, to emigrate to the banks of the Arkansas, de- 
cided to remove. A tract of land, lying twenty miles 
above New Orleans, known now as the " German coast," 
was given them. Their settlement was in contrast with 1722. 
the others. They were industrious, and cultivated their 
farms, raised vegetables, rice, and other provisions ; also 
tobacco and indigo. The fig and the orange were now 
introduced. The lUinois region had been settled by emi- 
grants from Canada, who raised wheat and sent flour to 
the colonists below. The priests meanwhile were not idle 
in teaching the Indians, and a convent was founded at 
New Orleans for the education of girls. As the colonists 
had not energy enough to protect themselves, a thousand 
soldiers were sent from France for that purpose. 1724 

The Choctaws, the alHes of the French, occupied the 
region between the lower Mississippi and the Alabama. 
The principal village of the Natchez tribe was on the 
bluff where now stands the city of that name. They 
were not a numerous people, unlike the tribes among 
whom they dwelt, in their language as well as in their 



218 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, religion. Like the Peruvians, tliey were worshippers of 

L_ the sun, and in their great wigwam they kept an undying 

1724. fire. Their principal chief professed to be a descendant 
of the sun. They became justly alarmed at the encroach- 
ments of the French, who having Fort Eosalie, demanded 
the soil on which stood their principal village, for a farm. 
They suddenly fell upon the white intruders and kiUed 
two hundred of their number, and took captive their women 
and children. The negro slaves joined the Indians. Their 
principal chief, the Grreat Sun, had the heads of the 
French officers slain in the battle arranged around liim, 
1730. that he might smoke his pipe in triumph ; — liis triumph 
was short. A company, consisting of French and Choc- 
taws, under Le Suer, came up from New Orleans, and 
surprised them while they were yet celebrating their vic- 
tory. The Great Sun and four hundred of his people were 
taken captive and sent to St. Domingo as slaves. Some 
of the Natchez escaped and fled to the Chickasaws, and 
some fled beyond the Mississippi ; theh land passed into 
the hand of strangers, and soon, they as a people were 
unknown. 

The territory of the brave Chickasaws, almost sur- 
rounding that of the Natchez, extended north to the Ohio, 
and east to the land of the Cherokees. They were the 
enemies of the French, whose boats, trading from Canada 
and Illinois to New Orleans, they were accustomed to 
plunder. English traders from Carolina were careful to 
increase this enmity toward their rivals. 
1735. Two expeditions were set on foot to chastise these bold 

marauders. Bienville came up from the south with a 
fleet of boats and canoes, and a force of twelve hundred 
Choctaws ; he paddled up the Tombecbce as far as he 
could, and then hastened across the country to surprise 
one of their fortified places. D'Artaguette hastened down 
from the Illinois country, of which he was governor, with 
fifty Frenchmen and a thousand Indians, to attack an- 



EXPEDITION AGAINST LODISBURG. 219 

other of tteir strongholds. The Chickasaws were too ^SA^- 

vigilant to be thus surprised. They repulsed Bienville, 

dispersed the forces of D'Artaguette, took him prisoner, 1735. 
and burned him at the stake. Once more an attempt was May 
made with all the force the French could bring to crush 
this warhke tribe, but in vain ; the patriotic Chickasaws 
successfully defended their country against the foreign foe. 1740. 

These reverses did not deter the persevering French 
from establishing trading houses south of Lake Eric, and 
down the Alleghany to the Ohio, and thence to the Mis- 
sissippi. The people of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and 
Virginia became alarmed at these encroachments on their 
territory. The Iroquois professed to have conquered all 
the valley of the Ohio, and they claimed a vast region to 
the north-west as their hunting grounds. Commissioners 
from the above colonies met the envoys of the Iroquois at 1745. 
Lancaster, and purchased from them for £400 all their ^"'7- 
claim to the regions which they professed to own between 
the Blue Eidge and the Alleghany mountains. 

The colonies had enjoyed nearly thirty years of com- 
parative freedom from French and Indian incursions, when 
they were involved in what is known as King George's ^^44 
War. 

The first intimation of hostilities was an attack upon 
the fort at Canso, in which the garrison was captured and 
carried to Louisburg. Louisburg was the great strong- 
hold of the French on this continent ; the centre from 
which privateering expeditions were fitted out, that had 
nearly destroyed the commerce as weU as the fisheries of 
New England. To prevent these depredations, and the 
inroads to which the French incited their Indian allies. 
Governor Shirley, of Massachusetts, proposed to the Gen- 
eral Court to take Louisburg. No aid was expected from 
the mother country — she was too much engaged at home ; 
but the other colonies were invited to enlist in the com- 
mon cause. New Jersey and Pennsylvania agreed to 



220 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, furnish money, but declined to send men ; New York 

L furnished money and some cannon ; Connecticut offered 

1744. five hundred men ; Ehode Island and New Hampshire 
each furnished a regiment. Massachusetts proposed the 
expedition, was the most interested in its success, bore 
the greater jiart of the exjjense, and furnished the greater 
portion of the men and vessels. The fishermen, especially 
those of Marblehead, entered upon the enterprise with 
alacrity. Their fisheries had been almost ruined and they 
thrown out of employment, by the continued forays from 
Louisburg. Farmers, mechanics, and lumbermen volun- 
teered in great numbers. Here were citizen soldiers, 
without a single man whose knowledge of military tactics 
went beyond bush-fighting with the Indians, and all 
equally ignorant of the proper means to be used in redu- 
cing a fortified place. A wealthy merchant, William Pep- 
pereU, of Maine, was elected commander. The artillery 
was under the direction of Gridley, the same who, thirty 
years afterward, held a similar position in an American 
army under very different circumstances. The enthusiasm 
was great, and what was lacking in means and skill, was 
supplied by zeal. A strong Protestant sentiment was 
mingled with the enterprise, and Whitefield, then on liis 
third tour of preaching in the colonies, was urged to fur- 
nish a motto for a banner. He promptly suggested, " Nil 
desperandum, Christo duce," — "Nothing is to be despaired 
of when Christ is leader." He also preached to them an 
inspiriting sermon, and they sailed, like the Crusaders of 
old, confident of success. 
jY4g In April the fleet arrived at Canso, hut owing to the 

ice, could not enter the harbor of Louisburg. Intelligence 
of the expedition had been sent to England, and Admiral 
Warren, who commanded on the West India station, was 
invited to join in the enterprise. He declined for want of 
explicit orders, but afterward receiving permission, be 
hastened to join them with four men-of-war. 



LOmSBTIEG CAPTUEED. 221 

The whole armament was now put in motion for Lou- chap. 

ishurg. That stronghold had walls forty feet thick, thirty 

feet high, and surrounded by a ditch eighty feet wide, 1V45. 
with protecting forts around it, manned by nearly two 
hundred and fifty cannon, small and great, and garrisoned 
by sixteen hundred men. 

As the fleet approached, the French came down to the 
beach to oppose their landing, but in a moment the " whale 
boats," fiUed with armed men, were " flying like eagles" 
to the shore. Their opposers, panic-stricken, fled ; and 
the following night the soldiers of the royal battery, one 
of the outside forts, sjiiked their cannon and retreated to 
the town. The deserted fort was immediately taken pos- 
session of, and the gunsmiths went to work to bore out 
the spikes. The next day a detachment marched round 
the town, giving it three cheers as they passed, and took 
up a position that completely enclosed the place on the 
land side, while the fleet did the same toward the ocean. 
They threw up batteries, dragged their cannon over a 
morass, and brought them to bear upon the fortress. 

These amateur soldiers soon became accustomed to 
encamping in the open air, and sleeping in the woods, as 
weU as to the cannon-balls sent among them by the be- 
sieged. They not only prevented ships from entering the 
harbor, but found means to decoy into the midst of their 
fleet and capture a man-of-war of sixty-four guns, laden 
with stores for the fort. This loss so much disheartened 
the garrison that, after a siege of seven weeks, Louisburg ^^^ 
surrendered. The news of this success sent a thrill of 
joy throughout the colonies. It was the greatest feat 
of the war, and was accomplished by undiscipUned volun- 
teers. 

France resolved, at any cost, to recover her stronghold, 
and also to desolate the English colonies. The fleet sent 
for the purpose was disabled by storms, while pestilence 
wasted the men. The commander, the Duke d'Anville, 



222 HISTOET OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, suddenly died, and his successor, a short time after, com- 
^^' mitted suicide. The next year, the fleet sent for the same 
1746. purpose was forced to strike its colors to an English squad- 
ron under Admirals Anson and Warren. 

Though thus successful, the frontier settlements still 
suffered greatly, and in self-defence the old project was 
revived of conquering Canada. The government of Eng- 
land required all the colonies, as far south as Virginia, to 
furnish men and means. Eight thousand men were raised, 
of which number Massachusetts furnished nearly one-half 
The British ministry suddenly changed their mind, and 
the enterprise was abandoned. Soon after, the treaty of 
Aix la Chapelle was concluded, by which all places taken 
by either party during the war were to be restored. Thus 
Louisburg, the capture of which was so gratifying to the 
colonists, and so significant of their daring spirit, passed 
1748. again into the hands of the French. 

The ministry did not relish the ardor and independ- 
ence of the colonists, who appeared to have, according to 
Admiral Warren, " the highest notions of the rights and 
liberties of Englishmen ; and, indeed, as almost levellers." 
It was in truth the foreshadowing of their complete inde- 
pendence of the mother country, and measures were taken 
by her to make them more subservient. They were for- 
bidden to have any manufactures, to trade to any place 
out of the British dominions, while no other nation than 
the English were permitted to trade with them. " These 
oppressions," says an intelligent traveller of that day, 
" may make, within thirty or iifty years, the colonies en- 
tirely independent of England." 

For many years there had been a marked decline in 
religion in New England. A peculiar union of church 
and state had led to a sort of compromise between the 
two, known as the " Half-way covenant," by which per- 
sons who had been baptized, but without pretensions to 



JONATHAN EDWAEDS. THE GREAT REVIVAL. 223 



personal piety, were admitted to the full privileges of '^^^■ 
church members. 

In the midst of this declension a rehgious "Awaken- 1735. 
ing," better known as the " Great Revival," commenced 
at Northampton, in Massachusetts, imder the preaching 
of Jonathan Edwards, a young man remarkable for his 
intellectual endowments. His sermons were doctrinal and 
strongly Calvinistic. His religious character had been 
early developed. At thirteen he entered Yale College ; 
thoughtftil beyond his years, a metaphysician by nature, 
at that early age he was enraptured with the perusal of 
Locke on the " Understanding." Secluded from the world 
by the love of study, he penetrated far into the mysteries 
of the workings of the human mind. 

Edwards drew from the Bible the knowledge of the 
true relation between the church and the world. The 
contest was long and strenuous, but the lines were clearly 
drawn, and from that day to this the distinction is marked 
and appreciated. " He repudiated the system of the Half- 
way covenant," and proclaimed the old doctrines of " the 
sole right of the sanctified to enjoy the privileges of church 
members, and of salvation by faith alone." As the influ- 
ence of the state in religious matters thus began to fade 
away, a closer spiritual relation of men to men, not as 
members of a commonwealth alone, but as members of a 
great brotherhood, gained in importance. 

Parties sprang into existence ; those who favored a 
more spiritual life in religion were stigmatized as " New 
Lights," while the steady conservatives were known as 
the " Old Lights." So bitter was the feeling that in Con- 
necticut the civil authority was invoked, and severe laws 1742 
were enacted against the New Lights. The controversy 
was so warm that Edwards was driven from his congrega- 
tion — at that time, "the largest Protestant society in the 
world." He went as a missionary to the Housatonic In- 
dians at Stockbridge, Massachusetts. There in the forest. 



224 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, amid toils and privations, he wrote his far-famed treatise 

on the " Freedom of the Will," which has exerted so 

1750. much influence in the theological world, while the writer 
was the first American that obtained a European reputa- 
tion as an author. 
1740. During this ijeriod Whitcfield came, by invitation, to 

New England. He had been preaching in the south with 
unexampled success. At intervals, for more than thirty 
years, he preached the gospel from colony to colony. " Hun- 
dreds of thousands heard the highest evangelical truths 
uttered with an eloquence probably never equalled." The 
influence of the awakening spread tdl all the colonies 
were visited by the same blessings, especially the Presby- 
terians of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and 
in a less degree in the more southern colonies. These 
influences were not limited to that age, for similar revivals 
have continued to our own times. 

The Baptists, hitherto but few in number, received a 
new impulse, as many of the New Light churches adopted 
their views ; and the preaching of Whitefield prepared 
the way for the success of the Methodists. 

The revival created a want for ministers of the gospel, 
to supply which, the Kev. WiUiam Tennent established 
an academy at Neshaminy ; an institution where young 
men professing the rehgious fervor that characterized those 
prominent in the revival, could be prepared for the sacred 
ofiice. This was the germ of Princeton College. 

This religious sentiment met with little sympathy 
from the authorities of the colony, and with difficulty a 
1746. charter was obtained. The institution was named Nassau 
Hall, in honor of the great Protestant hero, WLUiam III. 
It was first located at Elizabethtown, then at Newark, 
1757. and finally at Princeton. Its success was unexampled ; 
in ten years the number of students increased from eight 
to ninety. 



CHAPTEK XXI. 

FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 

The Valley of the Ohio. — French and English Claimants. — Gist the Pioneer. 
— George Washington ; his Character ; his Mission to the French on 
the Alleghany. — Returns to Wilhamsburg. — St. Pierre's Letter uns.atis- 
factory. — Virginians driven from the Ohio. — Fort Du Qucsne built. — 
Washington sent to defend the Frontiers. — Conflict at Fort Necessity. — 
The Fort abandoned. — British Troops arrive in America. — Plan of oper- 
ations. — General Braddock ; his qualifications. — The Army marches 
from Wills' Creek. — Obstinacy of Braddock. — Arrival on the Mononga- 
hela. — The Battle. — Defeat. — Death and Burial of Braddock. — Dun- 
bar's Panic. — The Frontiers left unprotected. 

Scarcely an Englisli colonist had yet settled in tlie val- chap. 

ley of the Ohio. The traders who visited the Indians in 

that region, told marvellous stories of the fertility of the 1749. 
soil, and the desirableness of the climate. It was pro- 
posed to found a colony west of the Alleghany mountains. 
The governor of Virginia received royal instructions to 
grant the " Ohio Company " five hundred thousand acres 
of land lying between the rivers Monongahela and Kana- 
wha, and on the Ohio. The company engaged to send one 
hundred families ; to induce them to emigrate they offered 
them freedom from quit-rents for ten years. 

Meantime, the French sent three hundred men to ex- 
pel the English traders and take possession of the valley. 
They also sent agents, who passed through the territory 
north of the Ohio river, and at various points nailed on 
the trees plates of lead, on which were inscribed the arms 
of France. This they were careful to do in the presence 
15 



226 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, of the Indians, who suspected they intended to take away 

their lands. When the English came and made surveys 

1749. on the soutli side of the Ohio, they asked them the puz- 
zling question : " If the French take possession of the 
north side of the Ohio, and the English of the south, 
where is the Indian's land ? " 

At Wills' Creek, now Cumberland, Maryland, one of 
the easiest passes over the mountains commenced. Here 
the Ohio Company established a place of deposit to sup- 
ply Indian traders with goods. They also wished to 
explore the Ohio river to the great falls ; to ascertain the 
location of the best lands, and whether the Indians were 
friendly or unfriendly. They employed for this dangerous 
and difficult task the celebrated trader and pioneer Chris- 
topher Gist, who crossed the mountains and came upon 
the Alleghany river, at a village occupied by a few Dela- 
ware Indians. Thence he passed down to Logstown, a 
sort of head-quarters for traders, situated some miles 
below the junction of that river and the Monongahela. 
Here dwelt a renowned chief of the western tribes, Tana- 
charison, or half-king, as he was called, because he ac- 
knowledged a sort of allegiance to the Mohawks. " You 
are come to settle the Indian lands," said the resident 
trader, whose suspicions were roused ; " you will never go 
home safe." G-ist traversed the region of the Muskingum 
and of the Scioto, then crossed the Ohio, and passed up 
the Cuttawa or Kentucky to its very springs. He gave a 
glowing account of the beauty and fertility of the region 
he had visited. It was covered with trees of immense 
size, the wild cherry, the ash, the black walnut, and the 
sugar maple, the two latter giving indubitable proof of the 
fertility of the soil ; a land abounding in never-failing 
springs and rivulets, forests interspersed with small mead- 
ows, covered with long grass and white clover, on which 
fed herds of elk, deer, and buffalo, while the wild turkey 
and other game promised abundance to the hunter and 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 227 

pioneer. Such was the primitive character of the territory ^I^^P- 
since known as the State of Ohio. 

He ascertained that French emissaries were visiting 1749. 
all the western trihes, to induce them to take up arms 
against the English ; that the Indians looked upon both 
as intraders, and though willing to trade with both, were 
unwilling that either should occupy their lands. The 
French saw that if the English obtained a foothold on the 
Ohio, they would cut off the commimication between the 
Lakes and the Mississippi. The final struggle for the 
supremacy in the valley was near at hand. 

While the English, by invitation of the Indians, were 
approaching from the south, to build a fort at the head of 
the Ohio, the French were approaching the same point 
from the north. The latter had built war vessels at Fron- 
tenac to give them the command of Lake Ontario ; they 
had strengthened themselves by treaties with the most 
powerful tribes, the Shawnees and the Delawares ; they 
had repaired Fort Niagara, at the foot of Lake Erie, and 
at this time had not less than sixty fortified and well gar- 
risoned posts between Montreal and New Orleans. They 
had also built a fort at Presque Isle, now Erie, one on 
French Creek, on the site of Waterford, and another at 
the junction of that creek with the Alleghany, now the 
village of Franklin. 

Dinwiddle, governor of Virginia, resolved to send a 
messenger to remonstrate with the French for intruding 
on Enghsh territory. Where coidd he find a man of en- 
ergy and prudence to trust in this laborious and perilous 
undertaking ? His attention was directed to a mere 
youth, in his twenty-second year, a surveyor, who, in the 
duties of his profession, had become somewhat familiar I'i'SS. 
with the privations of forest hfe. That young man was 22. 
George Washington. He was a native of Westmoreland 
county, Virginia. The death of his father left him an 
orphan when eleven years of age. The wealthy Virginia 



228 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, planters of those days were accustomed to send their 

XXI 

L sons to England to complete their education, and thus 

1749. had Lawrence, his half-brother, fourteen years older than 
himself, been educated. No such privilege was in store 
for George. His father's death may have interfered with 
such plans : be that as it may, he was sent to the com- 
mon school in the neighborhood, and there taught only 
the simplest branches of an English education — to spell, 
to read, to write, to cipher. When older, he went for some 
time to an academy of a somewhat higher grade, where he 
devoted his time particularly to the study of mathematics. 

Though his school advantages were so limited, it was 
his inestimable privilege to liave a mother endowed with 
good sense, united to decision of character and Christian 
principle, — she insjiired love, she enforced obedience. 
From her he inherited an ardent, impulsive temper — from 
her he received its antidote ; she taught him to hold it in 
subjection. 

The early life of George Washington furnishes an ex- 
ample worthy the imitation of the youth of his country. 
We are told of his love of truth, of his generous and noble 
acts, that he won the confidence of his schoolmates, and 
received from them that respect which virtue alone can 
secure. 

He was systematic and diligent in all liis studies. 
There may yet be seen, iu the hbrary at Mount Vernon, 
the book in which he drew his first exercises in surveying ; 
every diagram made with the utmost care. Thus was 
foreshadowed in the youth what was fully developed in 
the man. At the early age of sixteen, we find him in the 
woods on the fi-ontiers of Virginia, performing his duties 
as a surveyor ; making his measurements with so much 
accuracy that to this day they are relied upon. 

We must not suppose that the studious and sedate 
youth, with his rules for governing his " conversation and 
conduct " carefully written out, and as carefully observed. 



I 



THE FORMATION OF HIS CHARACTER. 229 

was destitute of boyish feelings. He had his youthful ^"^^P- 

sports and enjoynaents ; he could exhibit feats of strength , 

and skill ; could ride a horse or throw a stone with any 1749. 
boy, and was so far military in his tastes as occasionally to 
drill his school-fellows during recess. 

His brother Lawrence had spent some time in the Eng- 
lish navy, and George had often heard of the excitements 
of the seaman's lii'e, and had boyish longings for adven- 
tures on the ocean. Circumstances seemed to favor his 
wishes. When fourteen, it was decided that he should 
enter the navy. The man-of-war on which he was to go 
as a midshipman was lying in the Potomac ; his baggage 
was ready, but when the parting hour came the mother's 
heart faded. Though deeply disappointed, George yielded 
to her wish, and relinquished his anticipated pleasure. 

Though Washington was born and spent his youth in 
the wilds of Virginia, there were many refining influences 
brought to bear upon the formation of his character. He 
was intimate for years in the Fairfax family, who brought 
with them to their western home the refinement and cul- 
ture of the English aristocracy of that day. Neither 
must we overlook the benign influence exerted over him 
by his educated and benevolent brother Lawrence, who, 
up to the time of his death, watched over his young 
brother with a father's care, as well as a brother's love. 

The influence of Christian princijile governing the im- 
pulses of a noble nature, was the secret of the moral 
excellence, the dignified integrity, unaffected candor, and 
sterHng worth, which shone forth in the character of 
Washington, — a name so much blended with the liberties 
of his country, and so much cherished and honored by the 
friends of humanity in every clime. 

Governor Dinwiddle gave his youthful messenger a 
letter for the French commandant on the Ohio, iu which 
he demanded of him his reasons for invading the territory 
of England. The very day on which Wasliington re- 



230 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, ceived bis credenticals, (October 30,) be left Williamsburg 
for Wincbester, tben a frontier town of Virginia. By tbe 



1753. middle of November bis jjreparations were completed. 
Witb a company consisting of tbe intrepid Gist, wbo 
acted as guide, two interpreters, and four otbers, be set 
out from Wills' Creek. A. journey of nine days, tbrougb 
solitudes and mountain passes, and across streams swollen 
by recent rains, brougbt tbem to wbere tbe Monongabela, 
tbat river " so deep and still," meets tbe " swift running 
Allegbany." Wasbington explored tbe neigbborbood, and 
remarks in bis journal : " Tbe land at tbe Fork is 
extremely well situated for a fort, as it bas absolute 
command of botb rivers." Tbus tbougbt tbe Frencb en- 
gineers, wbo afterward on tbat very spot built Fort Du 
Quesne. 

Sbingis, cbief sacbem of tbe Delawares, wbo afterward 
took up arms against tbe Englisb, accompanied bim to 
Logstown. Here, by bis instructions, Wasbington was to 
confer witb tbe Indian cbiefs : be summoned tbem to a 
grand talk. Tbey would not commit tbemselves ; tbey 
bad beard tbat tbe Frencb were coming witb a strong 
force to drive tbe Engbsb out of tbe land. But lie in- 
duced tbree of tbem to accompany bim to tbe station of 
tbe Frencb commandant ; among tbese was tbe HaU- 
King. 

Wben be arrived at Venango, or Franklin, tbe officer 
in command referred bim to tbe Cbevalier St. Pierre, 
general oificer at tbe next post. Meanwbile be was 
treated witb politeness, and invited by tbe Frencb officers 
to a supper. Tbe wine passed freely, and tbe talka- 
tive Frencbmen began to boast of tbeir plans ; tbey 
would " take possession of tbe Obio ; tbe Englisb could 
raise two men for tbeir one, but tbey were too slow and 
dilatory." Tbe sober and cautious Wasbington marked 
well tbeir words. Tbe tbree cbiefs bad promised well ; 
tbey would give back tbe speecb belts to tbe Frencb • 



I 



THE VIRGINIANS DEIVEN FKOM THE OHIO. 231 

they were' friends to the English. But when plied with chap. 

drink, and hailed by the French as " Indian brothers," 

they wavered for a time. 1753. 

Washington obtained an interview with St. Pierre, 
"an ancient and silver-haired chevalier, courteous but 
ceremonious," and after some delay received an answer to 
his desjjatches, and hastened homeward. As the pack- 
horses were disabled, he left them and the baggage, and 
with Gist for his only companion struck out into the wil- 
derness. The cold was intense, the snow was falling, and 
freezing as it fell. Wrapped in Indian blankets, with 
their guns in their hands and knapsacks on their backs, 
and a compass to guide them, they pushed on toward the 
Alleghany river, which they hoped to cross on the ice. 
Their journey through the patliless wild was marked by 
some mishaps and hairbreadth escapes. Their lives were 
endangered by a false guide, and Washington in endeav- 
oring to force his way tlu'ough the ice in the river, came 
near perishing ; but, on the sixteenth of January, they 1754. 
arrived safely at Williamsburg. 

The answer of St. Pierre was courteous but indefinite. 
He referred the matter to the Marquis Du Quesne, the 
governor of Canada. It was clear, however, that he did 
not intend to retire from the valley of the Ohio. This 
was still more evident from the preparations of boats, ar- 
tillery, and military stores, which Washington noticed up 
the Alleghany, waiting for the spring flootl, when they 
would be taken to their place of destination. 

The following spring the Ohio Company sent between 
thirty and forty men to build a fort at the head of the 
Ohio. The French were on the. alert ; a company of sol- 
diers floated down the Alleghany, who surprised and sur- 
rounded them at their work. They must surrender in an 
hour's time or defend themselves against a thousand men. 
They were glad to leave their unfinished fort and return 



232 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, to Virginia. The French took immediate possession, 

finished it, and named it Dii Quesne. 

1754. At the early age of nineteen Washington had been 

appointed Adjntant-General of the northern district of 
Virginia, an office which he filled to the entire satisfaction 
of his countrymen. Now he received the commission of 
lieutenant-colonel, with orders to protect the frontiers. 
He was also offered the command of the expedition against 
the French at Fort Du Quesne. This he declined on ac- 
count of his youth ; the command was then conferred 
ujion Colonel Fry, who shortly after fell ill, and it virtu- 
ally passed into the hands of Washington. His little 
army was ill provided with tents and military stores, and 
poorly clad. They moved on very slowly. It was not 
easy with a train of artillery to pass through the forests. 
climb mountains, and ford swollen rivers. Washington 
pushed on with a detachment for the junction of the Eed- 
stone and Monongahela. There, on the spot now known 
as Brownsville, he hoped to maintain his position untU 
the main force should come up, and then they would float 
down the river in flat-boats to Fort Du Quesne, 

On the ninth of May this detachment arrived at a 
place called the Little Meadows. Here they met traders, 
who informed them that the French were in great force at 
Du Quesne, and that a portion of them had set out on a 
secret expedition. There was but little doubt as to its 
object. Presently came an Indian runner ; he had seen 
the tracks of the Frenchmen ; they were near. The Half- 
King with forty warriors was also in the neighborhood. 
On a dark and stormy night, Washington and forty of his 
men groped their way to his camp, which they reached 
about daylight. This faithful ally put a couple of runners 
upon the enemy's tracks ; they rejiorted that the French 
were encamped in a deep glen, where they had put up 
temporary cabins. 

Washington arranged his company in two divisions, and 



SURRENDER OF FORT NECESSITY. 233 

SO effectually surprised them that few of their number ™^P- 

escajied. Among the slain was the youthful De Jumon- 

viUe, the leader of the party. Here was shed the first 1754. 
blood in that seven years' struggle, in which the French 
power on this continent was broken. As no reinforce- 
ments were sent, Washington was greatly disappointed ; 
he could not maintain the advantage he had gained. He 
heard that a numerous force was on its way to attack him. 
In a letter to his friend Colonel Fairfax he writes : " The 
motives that have led me here are pure and noble. I had 
no view of acquisition, but that of honor by serving 
faithfully my king and country." 

He built a fort at the Great Meadows, which, from 
the fact of famine pressing upon them, he named Fort 
Necessity. It is a fact worthy of mention, that at this 
encampment public prayer was daily observed, and con- 
ducted by the youthful commander himself. 

Soon five hundred French and many hundred Indians 
appeared on the hills in sight of the fort. He drew out 
his men for battle, but the enemy declined the contest. 
Then he withdrew them within the inclosure, giving them 
directions to fire only when an enemy was in sight. This 
irregular fighting continued throughout the day. The 
rain poured in torrents, and rendered useless many of 
their muskets. At night the French desired a parley ; 
suspecting stratagem to introduce a spy, Washington at 
first refused, but at length consented. Much of the night 
was spent in negotiation ; finally, the Virginians were 
allowed to leave the fort with the honors of war, and their 
equipments and stores, except artillery. The next morn- 
ing the youthful hero led out his men. The Indians im- July 
mediately began to plunder ; Washington, seeing this, ^• 
ordered every thing to be destroyed that the soldiers could 
not carry. The loss of the Virginia regiment, which 
numbered about three hundred, was nearly fifty ; the loss 
of the enemy was greater. After much toil and suffering, 



234 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

C2AP. from want of provisions, tlicy arrived at Cumberland. 

Thus ended the first military expedition of Washington. 

1754. Although unsuccessful, he displayed so much prudence 
and judgment that the people were impressed by his 
merits, and which the House of Burgesses acknowledged 
by a vote of thanks. 

He was, however, soon after annoyed and mortified by 
the course pursued by the narrow-minded Dinwiddle, who, 
unwilling to promote the provincial officers, dissolved the 
Virginia regiments, and formed them into independent 
comijanies, in which there should be no officer of higher 
rank than that of captain. With a dignity and self-respect 
worthy of his character, Washington withdrew from the 
army. When Governor Sharpe, of Maryland, was ap- 
pointed commander-in-chief by the king, he invited him, 
through a friend, to join it again under the title of colonel, 
but really with no higher authority than that of captain. 
He declined the offer, writing in reply, " If you think me 
capable of holding a commission that has neither rank 
nor emolument annexed to it, you must maintain a very 
contemptible opinion of my weakness, and believe me more 
empty than the commission itself. " He was still further 
mortified by Dinwiddle's refusal to give up the French 
prisoners, according to the articles of capitulation at Fort 
Necessity. 

While these contests were in progress in the valley of 
the Ohio, the French and English nations were ostensibly 
at peace. Each, desirous of deceiving the other, professed 
to hope that this Httle collision would not interrupt their 
harmony ; the French still continued to send ships to 
America laden with soldiers ; and the English matured 
plans to drive them away. 

Matters took a more decided form ; war was not de- 
clared, but open hostilities commenced, and England, for 
the first time, sent an army to aid the colonists. 



GENERAL BKADDOCK THE EXPEDITION. 235 

Four expeditions were decided ujjon : one to capture *^^P- 

the French posts near the head of the Bay of Fundy, and 

expel the French from ACadie ; another against Crown 1754. 
Point, to be led by William Johnson, Indian agent among 
the Mohawks ; the third, against Niagara and Frontenac, 
was to be intrusted to Shirley, Governor of Massachusetts ; 
the fourth against Fort Du Quesne ; the latter the Com- 
mander-in-chief, General Edward Braddock, was to lead 
in person. 

The struggle was about to commence in earnest ; 
British troops had arrived, and the colonies responded with 
51 good will to the caU of the mother country for levies of 
soldiers. 

General Braddock was perfect in the theoiy and prac- 
tice of mere military training ; he had been in the 
'' Guards " many years, where he had drilled and drilled, 
but had never seen actual service. With the conceited 
assurance of inexperience, he believed the excellencies 
of the soldier were alone found in the British regular — 
the perfection of military skill in British officers. To 
these qualifications he added a most supercilious con- 
temjDt for the provincial soldiers and their officers. 

He was to lead in person the force against Fort Du 
Quesne. Of the difficulties of marching an army over ^755^ 
mountains, and through an unbroken wilderness, he was 
blindly ignorant. He was unwilling to hear advice, or 
even receive information on the subject ; and when Wash- 
ington, whom he had invited to act as one of his aids, 
suggested that " if the march was to be regulated by the 
slow movements of the train, it would be tedious, very 
tedious indeed," he made no reply, but smiled at the sim- 
plicity of the young man, who knew so little about the 
movements of a regular army. Afterward, Benjamin 
Franklin ventured to direct his attention to the danger of 
Indian ambuscades. To his suggestion Braddock rejalied : 
" The Indians are no doubt formidable to raw Americans, 



236 HISTOBY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, but upon the king's regulars, and disciplined troops, it is, 

L sir, impossible they should make any impression." 

1755. The army assembled at Wills' Creek, to which place 

Braddock came in his coach, and surrounded by his staff, 
" cursing the road very heartily " — its roughness had brok- 
en his coach, and ruffled his temper. He refused to em- 
ploy Indians as scouts on the march, or to protect the 
Pennsylvanians, who were making a road for the passage 
of the army ; hooted at the suggestion of Washington to 
take as little baggage as possible, and to employ pack- 
horses instead of wagons. The English officers could 
give up neither their cumbrous baggage nor their lux- 
uries, neither could the general dispense with " his 
two good cooks, who could make an excellent ragout out 
of a pair of boots, had they but materials to toss them 
up with." 
June. After a month's delay, the army commenced its march. 

The difficulties of dragging heavily laden wagons and 
artillery over roads filled with stumps of trees and rocks, 
brought the general partially to his senses, and he inquired 
of Washington what was the best to be done. From 
recent accounts it was known that the garrison at Fort 
Du Quosne was small, and he advised that a division of 
light armed troops should be hurried forward to take pos- 
session of the place, before reinforcements could arrive 
from Canada. Accordingly, twelve hundred choice men 
were detached from the main body and pushed forward, 
taking with them ten field-pieces, and pack-horses to carry 
their baggage. The main division was left under the com- 
mand of Colonel Dunbar, with orders to move on as fast 
as possible. 

The general persisted in refusing to employ either In- 
dians or backwoodsmen as scouts. There was a celebrated 
hunter, known all along the frontiers as Captain Jack. 
Hfi was " the terror of the Indians." He had been their 
prisoner, had lived years among them, and was familiar 



THE ARMY AT THE MONONGAHELA. 237 

witli their habits. Afterward he cleared for himself a ^^^.P- 

piece of land, built his cabin, and, happy in his forest life, . 

cultivated his ground and amused himself by hunting and 1755. 
fishing. On his return home on a certain evening he found 
his wife and chUdren murdered, and his cabin in ashes. 
From that hour ho devoted his life to defend the frontiers, 
and to avenge himself upon the destroyers of his worldly 
happiness. He offered his services and those of his band 
to act as scouts, and seek the Indians in their lurking- 
places. Braddock received him very coldly, and declined 
the offer, saying that he "had experienced troops upon 
whom he could rely for all purposes." 

Even the advance division moved very slowly, not 
more than three or four mUes a day. Says Washington 
in a letter, " Instead of pushing on with vigor, without 
regarding a Uttle rough road, they halt to level every 
mole-hill and to erect a bridge over every brook." A 
month's slow march through the woods brought the army 
to the east bank of the Monongahela, about fifteen mUes 
above Fort Du Quesne. Only the very day before the pro- 
posed attack on that fort, Washington, who had been 
detained by a fit of sickness, was able to join them. As July 9. 
the hills came down to the water's edge, it was necessary 
to cross the river directly opposite to the camp, and five 
miles below, at another ford, recross to the east side. 
Colonel Gage — he, who, twenty years afterward, com- 
manded a British army in Boston — crossed before daylight, 
and with his detachment moved rapidly to the second 
ford ; then recrossiug, took position to protect the passage 
of the main force. Washington ventured once more to 
suggest that the Virginia Rangers, consisting of three hun- 
dred men, should be thrown in advance. This proposition 
received an angry reply from Braddock, and, as if to make 
the rebuke more conspicuous, the Virginians and other 
provincials were placed as a rear-guard. At sunrise the 
remainder of the army was in motion. Their equipments 



238 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, were in the most perfect order ; their muskets were hur- 

. L nished, and charged with fresh cartridges, and in high 

1755. sjiirits they moved along, with bayonets fixed, colors flying, 
and drums beating. 

About two o'clock in the afternoon, after recrossing the 
river, as the army was moving along a narrow road, not 
more than twelve feet wide, with scarcely a scout in front 
or on the flanks, the engineer, who was marking the way, 
suddenly cried out " French and Indians." Scarcely was 
the alarm given, before rapid firing was heard in front, 
accompanied by most terrific yells. The army was in a 
broad ravine, covered with low shrubs, with moderately 
rising ground in front and on both sides. On this eleva- 
tion among the trees were the French and Indians, in\-isi- 
ble to the English, but from their hiding-places able to see 
every movement of the soldiers in the ravine, and to take 
deliberate aim. The regulars were thrown into confusion ; 
the sight of their companions shot down beside them by 
an invisible enemy, together with the unearthly yells of 
the savages, sent a thrill of horror through their souls. 
They were ordered to charge bayonet up the hiU, but no 
orders could induce them to leave the line. The enemy 
had been sent to occupy this very position, bixt had arrived 
too late ; now they were spreading all along both sides of 
the ravine. The English soldiers lost all control, and fired 
at random into the woods, wherever they saw the smoke 
of an enemy's gun. The advance party fell back upon 
the second division, and threw it into still greater confu- 
sion. At this moment Colonel Burton came up with a 
reinforcement, eight hundred strong, but just as they had 
formed to face the enemy, down upon them rushed the 
two foremost divisions pell-mell ; all were crowded to- 
gether in inextricable confusion, and their officers were 
nearly all slain or wounded. Now came Braddock liim- 
self. He ordered the colors to advance, and the respective 



THE BATTLE. 239 

regiments to separate and form in ranks — but in vain. No ™^P- 
orders were obeyed. 

In a few minutes after the battle commenced the Vir- 1755. 
ginia Eangers were behind trees, and rapidly picking off 
the Indians ; but unfortunately many of these brave men 
fell victims to the random shots of the regulars. Wash- 
ington entreated Braddock to permit his soldiers to pro- 
tect themselves, as the Virginians had done ; but he 
refused, and still persisted in striving to form them into 
platoons, and when any sheltered themselves behind trees, 
he called them cowards and struck them with the flat of 
his sword. Thus, through his obstinacy, these unfortu- 
nate men became targets for the enemy. The officers ex- 
hibited the greatest bravery, and many of them fell, as 
they were the special objects of the sharpshooters. Two 
of the aids, Morris and Orme, were severely wounded, 
and their duties devolved upon Washington. His expo- 
sure was great, as he passed often from one part of the 
field to another ; yet he gave his orders with calmness 
and judgment. When sent to bring up the artillery, he 
found the Indians surrounding it. Sir Peter Halket, the 
commander, kUled, and the men paralyzed with fear. He 
encouraged them, leaped from his horse, pointed a field- 
piece and discharged it. It was useless ; the men deserted 
the guns. For three hours the desperate fight lasted. 
During this time Braddock was in the centre of the con- 
flict, trying, in his ivay, to regain the field. His officers 
had nearly aU fallen, and his slain soldiers covered the 
ground ; still he would not permit the remainder to adopt 
the Indian mode of fighting. 

Five horses were shot under him, and finally he him- 
self was mortally wounded. As he was falling from his 
horse Captain Stewart, of the Virginia Guards, caught 
him in his arms. As they bore him out of danger, he 
begged to be left to die upon the field of his misfortune. 
All was now abandoned. The fall of the general saved 



240 HISTOBY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, the army from entire destruction. The soldiers were now 

'_ at liberty to save themselves as best they could. " The 

1V55. regulars fled like sheep before hounds." The Virginia 
Kangers threw themselves in the rear, and for some time 
held the enemy in check. The wagoners mounted their 
team-horses and fled ; all hurried to the ford, fiercely pur- 
sued by the Indians. The love of plunder restrained the 
pursuers, and after the fugitives had recrossed the river 
they were not molested. 

Washington rode all that night and the next day to 
Dunbar's camp to obtain wagons to transport the wounded, 
and soldiers to guard them. When he had obtained these 
he hastened back to meet the fugitives. 

Braddock was stUl able to issue orders, and seems to 
have had a faint hope that he might hold out till he 
could receive reinforcements. He was carried by the sol- 
diers, being unable to mount a horse ; — at length, the 
fugitives arrived at Fort Necessitj'. The wounded gen- 
eral appeared to be heart-broken. He scarcely spoke ; as 
if reflecting on his past confidence in his troops, he would 
occasionally ejaculate, " Who would have thought it ? " 
Tradition tells of his softened feelings toward those whom 
he had treated harshly ; of his gratitude to Captain Stew- 
art for his care and kindness ; of his apology to Washing- 
ton for the manner in which he had received his advice. 
On the night of the thirteenth of July he died. The next 
morning, before the break of day, he was buried as secretly 
as possible, lest the Indians, who were hovering around, 
should find his grave and violate it. The chaplain was 
among the wounded, and Washington read the funeral 
service. Near the national road, a mile west of Fort 
Necessity, may be seen a rude pile of stones — the work 
of some friendly hand, — it marks the grave of Braddock. 
" His dauntless conduct on the field of battle shows lum 
to have been a man of spirit. His melancholy end, too, 
disarms censure of its asperity. Whatever may have been 



THE FRONTIERS LEFT EXPOSED. 2M. 

Ms faults and errors, he, in a manner expiated tliem by ^^^■ 

the hardest lot that can bcftiU a brave soldier ambitious '_ 

of renown, — an unhonored grave in a strange laud, a 1755. 
memory clouded by misfortime, and a name ever coupled 
with defeat." ' 

The frightened Dunbar, though he had under liis com- 
mand fifteen hundred effective men, — enough, if properly 
led, to have regained the field, — broke up his camp, de- 
stroyed his stores, and retreated with aU speed ; only when 
he had arrived safely in Philadelphia did he breathe freely. 
His failure of duty left the frontiers exposed to the im-oads 
of the savages. 

Of eighty-sis ofiicers, twenty-six had perished, and 
thirty-six were wounded. Among the latter was Captain 
Horatio Gates, who, twenty-five years later, was conspicu- 
ous as a major-general in the struggle for independence. 
Of the soldiers, more than seven liundred were either 
kUled or wounded. The gallant Virginia Rangers had 
perished in great numbers, for upon them had fallen the 
brunt of the battle. When it became known that there 
were only two hundred and twenty-five French, and about 
six hundred and fifty Indians in the battle, the disgrace 
was deeply felt, that this handful of men, sent merely to 
hold the English in check, should have defeated a well- 
equipped and discipUned army of nearly twice their own 
number. 

The religious sentiments of the colonists were greatly 
shocked at the profanity. Sabbath-breaking, and almost 
every form of vice and wickedness common in this boastful 
army. So certain were the expectations of victory, that 
preparations were made to celebrate it. 

It is proper to notice the effect of these events upon the 
minds of the colonists. With them the name of the Brit- 
ish regulars had lost its prestige — they were not invincible. 

' WasliiDgton Irving. 
16 



242 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. In addition, the hauglitiness of the British officers had 
inflicted wounds destined never to be healed. The atten- 



1755. tion of the people was directed especially to Washington. 
In a letter to his brother Augustine he says : "By the 
all-powerful dispensation of Providence, I have been pro- 
tected beyond all human probability or expectation ; for 
I had four bullets through my coat, two horses shot under 
me, yet escapied unhurt, though death was levelling my 
companions on every side around me." 

The wonderful manner in which he had been preserved 
in that day of peril, excited universal attention. No 
doubt the Kev. Samuel Davies, one of the most celebrated 
clergymen of the day, expressed the common sentiment, 
when, in a sermon preached soon after Braddock's defeat, 
he referred to him as " that heroic youth, Colonel Wash- 
ington, whom I cannot hut hope Providence has hitherto 
preserved in so signal a manner for some important ser- 
vice to his country." Washington was never wounded in 
battle ; he was shielded by the same protecting hand. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR— CONTINUED. 

The French Acadiens ; their simple Manners, Industry, and good Morals. — 
Expulsion from their Homes, and mournful Exile. — Expedition against 
Crown Point. — Baron DiesUau. — English defeated. — Death of Colonel 
Williams. — Attack on Johnson's Camp repulsed. — Death of Dieskau. — 
Williams College. — Indian Ravages on the Frontiers of Virginia and 
Pennsylvania. — Kittanning destroyed. — Lord Loudon Commander-in- 
chief. — His tardiness and arbitrary Measures. — Montcalm acts with 
Energy ; captures Fort Ontario, then Fort William Henry. — Exhausted 
condition of Canada. 

In the mean time other expeditions were undertaken ^vf? 

against the French. For this purpose Massachusetts . 

alone raised eight thousand soldiers, almost one-fifth part 1755. 
of her ahle-bodied men. A portion of Acadie or Nova 
Scotia was still in the hands of the French. It consisted 
of the isthmus on the northern part, which was defended 
by two insignificant forts. For forty years, since the peace 
of Utrecht, the peninsula had been under British rule, 
and now the whole territory was completely subdued. 
These forts, with scarcely any resistance, fell into the June 
hands of the English. Sixteen years before the Pilgrims ^^• 
landed at Plymouth this French colony was established 
on the Peninsula of Acadie. It was the oldest perma- 
nent French settlement in North America. For one 
hundred and fifty years the Acadiens had been gradually 
clearing and improving their lands, and enjoying the com- 
forts of rural hfe. At first their chief sources of wealth 
had been the fisheries and the fur-trade ; but these had 



244 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

\'\tf ' S^^'^^ually given way to agriculture. Their social inter- 

course was governed by a high tone of morals. Their 

1755. differences, but few in number, were settled by the arbi- 
tration of their old men. Seldom did they go with com- 
plaints to their English rulers. Early marriages were 
encouraged, and when a young man came of age, his 
neighbors built him a house, and aided him for one year, 
and the wife's friends aided her with gifts. Their fields 
were fertile, and industry made them productive. Their 
meadows, which now were covered with flocks of sheep 
and herds of cattle, they had, by means of dikes, redeemed 
from the great flow of the tide. Their little cottages dot- 
ted the landscape. In their domestic industry each family 
provided for its own wants, and clothed its members with 
cloth and linen made from the wool of their flocks, or from 
the flax of their fields. 

As Catholics, they were happy in the exercise of their 
religion ; though they belonged to the diocese of Quebec, 
they were not brought into close relation with the people 
of Canada. They knew but little of what was passing 
beyond the Hmits of their own neighborhood. Independ- 
ent of the world, they had its comforts, but not its luxu- 
ries. They now numbered about seventeen thousand 
inhabitants, and up to this time their English rulers had 
left them undisturbed in their seclusion. 

A dark cloud was hanging over this scene of rural 
simplicity and comfort. As they were excused from bear- 
ing arms against France by the terms of their surrender, 
the Acadiens were known as " French neutrals ;" neither 
had they been required to take the usual oaths of allegi- 
ance ; they had promised submission to English au- 
thority, to bo neutral in times of war with France, and it 
was understood they were to enjoy their religion. This 
oath was one which, as good Frenchmen and good Catho- 
lics, they could not take ; it required them to bear arms 
against their own brethren in Canada, and it might in- 



THE OATHS OF ALLEGIANCE. 24S 

volve the interests of their religion. " Better," urged ™ap. 

the priests, "surrender your meadows to the sea, and 

your houses to the flames, than at the peril of your souls 1755. 
take the oath of allegiance to the British government." 
But it was now to be exacted. " They possess the best- 
and largest tract of land in this province," writes Law- 
rence, Lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia, to Lord Hali- 
fax ; " if they refuse the oaths, it would be mucli better 
that they were away." This " largest and best tract " 
seems to have been coveted by their English rulers ; they 
undoubtedly were suspicious of the Acadiens as CathoUcs, 
and it is true some of their more ardent young men be- 
longed, as volunteers, to the garrisons of the recently 
captured forts ; but as this simple-minded people had 
neither the will nor the power to aid the enemies of Eng- 
land, we cannot suppose that this suspicion alone induced 
the British to visit upon them a severity so unparalleled. 
The question of allegiance was, however, to be pressed to 
the utmost ; if they refused to take the oath, the titles to 
their lands were to be null and void. The' haughty con- 
duct of the British officers sent to enforce these orders 
was to them a harbinger of sorrow. Their property was 
wantonly taken for the public service, and " they not to 
be bargained with for payment ; " if they did not bring 
wood at the proper time, " the soldiers might take their 
houses for fuel." Their guns were taken, and their boats 
seized, under the pretence that they intended to carry 
provisions to the French. The English insisted upon 
treating this people, so faithful to their country and their 
religion, as lawless rebels. Wearied by these oppressions, 
their deputies j)romised allegiance ; they declared that 
their consciences would not permit them to rebel against 
their rulers, and they humbly asked that their arms and 
boats might be restored. " The memorial is highly arro- 
gant, insidious, and insulting," said the haughty Law- 
rence ; " guns do not belong to you by law, for you are 



or THE rsrrsD states. 

CHAP. Bflraan Cathabc&~ After conadnitioii vhk the T^'>ple. 

tfe dqpsties offaed to sv»r iraeoaditKnalh'. Thru thev 

17^. veie told, as tlier had onee lelosed, now they ^Ktold not 
be panutted to swear. 

A c^uDitT, as unexpected as ix was dieadfal, was at 
Tuad. 6t pr«Tclamatkgu " tbe c4d men, and toob^ men, 
as wdl as all lads orer ten jears c^ age." were eaDed upon 
to asHfHp, OB a certain dar. the fifih of September, at 
cezfam poets is their respective d^tncts, to hear the 
Stj:- - wi^es of the Irii^." The call was obejed. At Giasd 
Pk iTfinr mtsn than fiiwr handled nnsr ~ - ' j and nn- 
au a cd nw acad boys came together. T^ gathered 

into the c^mch, its dooss w«e ekeed. and Window, tbe 
r, annoaneed to them the de - Brit- 

They woetobe banL . -. .: fn.rn 

' nathe |mwinee ; fion the fidds thev had cultiva-oi. 

firant ike pleasuit homes whae tbev had spent ta-cir 

T0«&. Tk^ B^tt not ^a%nte to lands oSerEd ibem 

amwij fiiends in Csaada, lest they dhotild add strength 

to the WieaA. Ther were to he diiv»i forth as teggais 

mmaa^ liiar taatuBS^ apeo^cf a stiu^ lai^ni^ and 

flf a difiaent wJB^am. Hict woe retained as ■paBomexs, 

tffl the d^ whi^ were to hear &em awar were ready. 

As soon as poe^ife, their wrre and little children weie 

also saaed. On the dar of embnlxtion. the voong men 

lad l«TTs were fiisi oxdoed on hoard the ^bip ; as their 

pmeBts and fiaoids vae not allowed to go with th«a, 

lief relosed. Jearii^ that if thos s^aiated, ther m%ht 

meet again — a ^oo^ ther eoold not hear. Bat 

and ^tfieaties wiae tedees : diivsi hr the har- 

eaet, dier weie marched fioaa ^ chmdi to the di^ 

wUeh was a mik distant ; tfcetr war was fined wi& we^p- 

Bg fiiods, mo&as^ and asters, who payed for tdesangs 

, and ther demedres wept andfsayedani 

fimntod peahas as fltey passed akag. Thea 

Ae same maimu tie ftdtee weie dnr^ on hoaid 



- xm. 



ta dipi ImB. 



» 



« 






coiBpeUed bf ; 

yoBay was - ^ 

and hs dmn^ io the peaanf s c . r=. " P:-; 

- as if in iHxkras - 

-5 : vkiie all ais . 



BSerHjoiqdfaDetoGea^ F 
' to week tj'.iiii Wwtn tme to 
in &e 
raestda^hetefeof sanov. 3kov 
vife or knabaBd, b(^ tini|yii'> ai 
emck. o tha^ fwte fiv tkeir 
tkdr poieat& Wk^ asr m a&cr jfmis a- 
. A7 BUt dii«i^ c£, SoBBflf ihuM. iL 




4 



248 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, could endure their banishment no longer. They obtained 

boats, and coasted along the shore toward home ; but, 

1755. alas ! when almost at the end of their perilous voyage, 
they were ordered away. Some wandered to Louisiana, 
where lands on the river above New Orleans, still known 
as the Acadien coast, were assigned them. 

This work of wanton cruelty was done by men, who un- 
blushingly congratulated the approving king that the work 
of desolation had been so eifectively accomplished — a work, 
which, for its treachery and cowardly cruelty, deserves the 
reprobation of every human breast. " I know not that the 
annals of the human race keep the record of sorrows so 
wantonly inflicted, so bitter and so perennial, as fell upon 
the French inhabitants of Acadie. The hand of the Eng- 
lish official seemed under a spell with regard to them, 
and was never uplifted but to curse them." ' 

The expedition against Crown Point, on Lake Cham- 
plain, had been intrusted to General William Johnson. 
His troops were drawn principally from Massachusetts and 
Connecticut ; a regiment from New Hampshire joined 
them at Albany. At the head of boat navigation on the 
Hudson, a fort was built which, in honor of thoir com- 
mander, whom they reverenced as " a bravo and virtuous 
man," the soldiers named Fort Lyman. But when John- 
son assumed the command he ungenerously changed the 
name to Fort Edward. Leaving a garrison in this fort, 
Johnson moved with about five thousand men to the head 
of Lake George, and there formed a camp, intending to 
descend into Lake Champlain. Hendrick, the celebrated 
Mohawk chief, with his warriors, were among these troops. 
Israel Putnam, too, was there, as a' captain, and John 
Stark as a lieutenant, each taking lessons in warfare. 

The French were not idle ; the district of Montreal 
made the most strenuous exertions to meet the invading foe. 

' Bancroft. 



THE ENGLISH FALL INTO AN AMBUSCADE. 349 

All the men who were able to bear arms were called into chap. 

active service ; so that to gather in the harvest, their , 

places were supplied by men from other districts. The 1755. 
energetic Baron Dieskau resolved, by a bold attack, to 
terrify the invaders. Taking with him two hundred reg- 
ulars, and about twelve hundred Canadians and Indians, 
he set out to cajiture Fort Edward ; but as he drew near, 
the Indians heard that it was defended by cannon, which 
they greatly dreaded, and they refused to advance. He 
now changed his plan, and resolved to attack Johnson's 
camp, which was supposed to be without cannon. 

Meantime scouts had reported to Johnson, that they 
had seen roads made througli the woods in the direction 
of Fort Edward. Not knowing the movements of Dieskau, 
a detachment of a thousand men, under Colonel Ephraim 
Williams, of Massachusetts, and two hundred Mohawks, 
under Hendrick, marched to relieve that post. The 
French had information of their ajjproach, and placed 
themselves in ambush. They were concealed among the 
thick bushes of a swamp, on the one side, and rocks and 
trees on the other. The English recklessly marched into 
the defile. They were vigorously attacked, and thrown Sept. 
into confusion. Hendrick was almost instantly killed, and ^• 
in a short time Williams fell also. The detachment com- 
menced to retreat, occasionally halting to check their pur- 
suers. The firing was heard in the camp ; as the sound 
drew nearer and nearer, it was evident the detachment 
was retreating. The drums beat to arms, trees were 
hastily felled and thrown together to form a breastwork, 
upon which was placed a few cannon, just arrived from 
the Hudson. Scarcely were these preparations made, 
when the panting fugitives appeared in sight, hotly pur- 
sued by the French and Indians. Intending to enter the 
camp with the fugitives, Dieskau urged forward his men 
with the greatest impetuosity. The moment the fugitives 
were past the muzzles of the cannon, they opened with 



250 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, a tremendous shower of grape, whicli scattered the terrified 

'_ Indians and checked the Canadians, but the regulars 

1755. pushed on. A determined contest ensued, which lasted five 
hours, until the regulars were nearly all slain, while the 
Indians and Canadians did but little execution ; they re- 
mained at a respectful distance among the trees. At 
length the enemy began to retreat, and the Americans 
leaped over the breastwork and pursued them with great 
vigor. That same evening, after the pursuit had ceased, 
as the French were retreating, they were suddenly attack- 
ed with great spirit by the New Hampshire regiment, 
which was on its way from Fort Edward. They were so 
panic-stricken by this new assault, that they abandoned 
every thing, and fled for their lives. 

Dieskau had been wounded once or twice at the com- 
mencement of the battle, but he never left his post ; two 
of his soldiers generously attempted to carry him out of 
danger, but when in the act one of them received his death 
wound ; he urged the other to flee. In the midst of flying 
bullets he calmly seated himself on the stump of a neigh- 
boring tree. He was taken prisoner, kindly treated, and 
sent to England, where he died. 

Johnson was slightly wounded at the commencement 
of the battle, and prudently retired from danger. To 
General Lyman belongs the honor of the victory, yet John- 
son, in his report of the battle, did not even mention his 
name. Johnson, for his exertions on that day, was made 
a baronet, and received from royal favor a gift of twenty- 
five thousand dollars. He had friends at court, but Lyman 
was unknown. 

Colonel Ephraim Williams, who feU in this battle, 
while passing through Albany had taken the precaution 
to make his will, in which he bequeathed property to 
found a free school in western Massachusetts. That school 
has since grown into Williams College — a monument 



INDIAN VILLAGE OF KITTANNING DESTROYED. 251 

more honorable than one of granite, one fraught with chap. 

blessings to future generations. 

Johnson, instead of pushing on to take advantage of the 1735. 
victory, loitered in his camp, and iinaUy built and garrison- 
ed a useless wooden fort, which he named William Henry. 

As has been mentioned, the retreat of Dunbar left the 
frontiers of Virginia and Pennsylvania subject to the hor- 
rors of savage warfare. Washington was intrusted with 
their defence, but so few men had he at his command, 
and they so scattered, as to aiford but little protection. 
The distant settlers of Virginia were driven in, and the 
beautiful valley of the Shenandoah became almost a deso- 
lation. Governor Dinwiddie, as an apology for not furnish- 
ing more soldiers, wrote : " We dare not part with any 
of our white men to any distance, as we must have a 
watchful eye over our negro slaves." In one of his letters, 
Washington says : " The supplicating tears of women 
and moving petitions of the men, melt me into such 
deadly sorrow, that for the people's ease, I could offer 
myself a willing sacrifice to the treacherous enemy." 

The village of Kittanning, twenty or thirty miles up 
the Alleghany, above Fort Du Quesne, was the head-quar- 
ters of a notable Indian chief, known as Captain Jacobs. 
Incited by the French, he and his bands made many mur- 
derous incursions against the settlements of Pennsylvania. 
His associate was the Delaware chief Shingis. Benjamin 
Franklin, who had been appointed colonel by the governor, 
had organized the Pennsylvania militia to protect the 
frontiers, and after his resignation, Colonel John Arm- 
strong, afterward a major-general in the Revolutionary 
war, was chosen in his place. He resolved to destroy these 
Indians and their village. Three hundred Pennsylvanians 
volunteered for the enterprise. In the latter part of Sep- 
tember they set out on horseback, across the mountains, 
and in a few days came into the vicinity of Kittanning, at 



252 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, night. They heard the savages carousing and yelling ; 

'_ they left their horses, approached the village, and arranged 

1756. the order of attack. The night was warm, the Indians 
^^P'" soon hegan to separate, some to sleep in the corn-fields 
near by, and some in wigwams. As day began to dawn, 
the Americans surrounded the party, and, at a given sig- 
nal, rushed to the attack. The Indians were taken by 
surprise, but soon the voice of Jacobs was heard loud 
above the din, cheering on his warriors, and shouting, 
"We are men, we will not be prisoners." The wigwams 
were set on fire, and warriors were heard singing their 
death-song in the midst of the flames. Jacobs attempted 
to break through the surrounding foe, but his career was 
cut short by a rifle-ball. This nest of savage murderers 
was entirely broken up ; the survivors went further west, 
and for a season the frontiers had peace. 

Lord Loudon was appointed a sort of viceroy of all the 
colonies. He sent General Abercrombie as his lieutenant, 
having suspended Governor Shirley, and ordered him to 
June, repair to England. Abercrombie arrived in June, and 
brought with him several British regiments. It was con- 
fidently expected that something important would now be 
done. These royal gentlemen had an army of seven thou- 
sand men at Albany, but, as the Frenchmen had said, 
they were " slow and dilatory," — they spent the summer 
in adjusting the rank of the officers. The soldiers of the 
colonies, though they had, by their indomitable courage, 
saved the remnant of the British army on the banks of 
the Monongahela ; though, at Lake George, they had 
driven the enemy before them, and had defended their 
soil and maintained the honor of the English name, yet 
they were not permitted to elect their own officers, and if 
they were appointed by the colonial governors, those of 
the same rank by royal appointment took the precedence. 
These were the petty annoyances dictated by little minds, 
that aided so much in alienating the colonists from the 



FORTS ONTARIO AND 'WILLIAM HENRY CAPTURED. 253 

mother country, and in the end leading them to independ- chap 
ence. 

While the English were thus trifling, Montcalm, the 1756. 
successor of Dieskau, was acting. With five thousand 
Frenchmen, Canadians, and Indians, he darted across the 
lake, and suddenly presented himself at the gates of Fort 
Ontario, at the mouth of the Oswego. He met with a 
vigorous resistance ; not until they had lost all hope of 
receiving aid, and their brave commander. Colonel Mercer, 
was killed, did the garrison surrender. An immense ^„g_ 
amount of military stores fell into the hands of Montcahn ; 14- 
he sent the captured flags to adorn the churches of Can- 
ada, and to please the Iroquois, who promised neutrality, 
he demolished the fort. Though it was known that this 
important post was threatened, yet no means were 
taken to relieve it. Thus Loudon planned and counter- 
planned, accomplished nothing, and then withdrew from 
his arduous labors into winter-quarters. He demanded 
free quarters for his officers of the citizens of Albany, 
New York, and Philadelpliia. As the demand was " con- 
traiy to the laws of England and the liberties of America," 
they refused to accede to it. He threatened to bring his 
soldiers and compel them to submit to the outrage. The 
citizens, in their weakness, raised subscriptions to support 
for the winter those who had wasted the resources of the 
country. Thus a military chief invaded, not merely the 
political rights of the peojile, but the sanctities of their 
domestic life. 

Montcalm was undisturbed in making preparations to 
capture Fort William Henry, before which he aj^peared, 1757. 
the next year, with a large French and Indian force. The 
garrison numbered aboirt three thousand men, under 
Colonel Monroe, a brave officer, who, when summoned to 
surrender, indignantly refused, and immediately sent to 
General Webbe, at Fort Edward, fifteen miles distant, for 
aid. He could have reheved Monroe, for he had four 



254 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, thousand men at his disposal, but when Putnam obtained 

permission to go to the aid of the fort, and had proceeded 

1T57. some miles with his rangers, Webbe recalled him. Then 
he sent a letter to Monroe advising him to surrender. This 
letter fell into the hands of Montcalm, who was on the 
point of raising the siege, but he now sent the letter to 
Monroe, with another demand to surrender. The brave 
veteran would not capitulate, but held out till half his 
guns were rendered useless. Montcalm was too brave and 
generous not to appreciate nobleness in others, and he 
granted him the privilege of marching out with the honors 
"^' of war. The only pledge he asked, was that the soldiers 
shoidd not engage in war against the French for eighteen 
months. They were to retain their private property, and 
Canadian and Indian prisoners were to be restored. 

Montcalm held a council of the Indians, who consented 
to the terms of the treaty, though they were sadly dis- 
appointed in their hopes of plunder. He refused them 
rum, and thus he could restrain them ; but, unfor- 
tunately, the night after the surrender they obtained it 
from the English. In the morning they were frantic from 
the effects of intoxication, and when the garrison were 
leaving their camp, they fell upon the stragglers. The 
French officers did all they could to restrain them, and 
some were even wounded in their exertions to save the 
English soldiers from savage violence. Montcalm, in his 
agony, cried, " Kill me, but spare the English ; they are 
under my protection." Instead of an orderly retreat to 
Fort Edward, it was a flight. 

Thus the French, with a population in Canada, not 
one-twentieth part as great as that of the English colo- 
nies, seemed triumphant everywhere. Was it strange 
that the colonists began to lose their respect for those sent 
to protect them from their enemies — especially for the 
officers ? They believed the interference of the home gov- 
ernment hindered the advancement of their cause, while 



CANADA EXHAUSTED. 255 

the majority of the royalist governors seemed to be actu- ™A?- 

ated by no worthier motive than that of promoting their '_ 

own interests. 1757. 

Though the French were thns victorious, and pos- 
sessed the valleys of the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi, 
and apparently all the continent, except a little strip 
along the Atlantic coast, yet Canada was exhausted. The 
struggle was virtually over. Her men had been drawn to 
the battle-field, whUe their farms were left untilled, and 
now famine was beginning to press ujjon the people. Their 
cattle and sheep were destroyed, and horse-flesh was made 
to supply the place of beef ; no aid could come from 
France, as nearly aU intercourse was cut off by the ever- 
present British craisers. The French owed their success, 
not to their own strength, but to the imbecility of the 
English commanders. 



i 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR, CONTINUED. 

William Pitt, Prime Minister. — Lord Amherst, Commander-in-chief. — Plan 
of Operations. — Louisburg captured. — Abercrombie on Lake George ; 
Repulse and Retreat. — Bradstreet captures Fort Froutenac. — Expedi- 
tion against Fort Du Quesne. — Colonel Grant. — Washington takes pos- 
se.ssion of the Fort ; resigns his Commission. — Ticonderoga abandoned ; 
the French retire to Canada. — Wolfe appears before Quebec. — Exer- 
tions of Montcalm. — The British on the Heights of Abraham. — The 
Battle. — Deaths of Wolfe and Montcalm ; their Memories. — Quebec ca- 
pitulates. — The Cherokee War. — Destruction of their Crops and Villa- 
ges ; their Revenge. — Pontiac ; his Character and Plans. — Desolations 
along the Frontiers. — General Bouquet. — Pontiac's Death. 

*^^^j The people of England were not indiiferent spectators of 

these failures ; they noticed the feeble manner in which 

1757. the war was conducted, and attributed the want of success 
to the inefficiency of those in command. 

Through their influence William Pitt, one of them- 
selves, not of the aristocracy, was called to the head of 
affairs. He appreciated the character and patriotism of 
the colonists. Instead of devising measures that would 
impoverish them, he, at once, assumed the expenses of the 
war ; announced that the money they had already spent 
for that purpose, should be refunded, and that for the fu- 
ture such expenses would be borne by the home govern- 
ment ; also arms and clothing should be furnished the 
soldiers who would enlist. This act of justice brought 
into the field fifty thousand men — a number greater than 
that of the entire male population of Canada at that 
time. 



PLAN OF OPERATIONS. 257 

Lord Jeffrey Amherst was appointed commander-in- ^f^.- 

chief of the British army. He had for his Heutenant the 

young and talented James Wolfe, who, although but 1757. 
thirty-one years of age, had spent eighteen of those years 
in the army, where, by his noble bearing, he had won for 
himself the admiration of both friends and foes. 

According to the general plan, Amherst himself was 
to head the expedition against Louisburg and Quebec ; 
while General Forbes was to cajiture Fort Du Quesne and 
take possession of the valley of the Ohio, and Abercrombie 
to take Ticonderog'a, the French stronghold on Lake 
Champlain. With Abercrombie was associated Lord 
Howe, who was characterized as the soul of the enterprise. June, 

On the 8th of June, Amherst landed with his forces ^ 
near the city of Louisburg. Under the cover of a fire 
fi-om the ships Wolfe led the first division. He forbade a 
gun to be fired, urged on the rowers, and in the face of 
the enemy leaped into the water, and followed by his men 
waded to the shore. The French deserted their outposts, 
and retired to the fortress in the town. After a bombard- 
ment of fifty days, when the French shipping in the harbor 
was destroyed, and all hopes of receiving assistance at an 
end, the fortress surrendered. At the same time were given Jqj^ 
up the islands of Cape Breton and Prince Edward, five 27. 
thousand prisoners, and an immense amount of military 
stores. 

Abercrombie and Lord Howe advanced against Ticon- 
deroga. Their army, which amounted to seven thousand 
English and nine thousand Americans, assembled at the 
head of Lake George. They passed in flat-boats down 
to the foot of the lake, where they disembarked and hur- 
ried on toward Ticonderoga ; but through the ignorance 
of their guide, missed their way, and the advance fell jy,, 
into an ambuscade of a French scouting party. The ene- 6." 
my was soon put to flight, but Lord Howe fell at the head 
17 



268 HISTOBT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP of his men. His death threw a gloom over the camp — the 

soldiers had confidence in no other leader. Their fore- 

1758. hodings were soon realized. The British engineer recon- 
noitred the French works, and reported them as weak ; 
but Stark, who knew their strength, affirmed they were 
strong and well furnished. Abercrombie believed his en- 
gineer, and without waiting for his artillery, he ordered an 
attack. His soldiers performed prodigies of valor, but 
were forced to retire, with a loss of two thousand of their 
number. In this battle was wounded Charles Lee, then 
a captain, and afterward a major-general in the Revolu- 
tionary army. The indefatigable Montcalm had disposed 
his small army to the very best advantage, and was pres- 
ent wherever he was specially needed. Abercrombie or- 
dered his men to attempt an impossibility, but judiciously 
kept himself out of danger. The English army was yet 
four to one of the French, and could have conquered with 
the aid of the cannon which had been brought up, yet 
Abercrombie hastily retreated. As Montcalm's troops 
were few and exhausted, he did not attempt to pursue him. 
The monotony of disasters was disturbed by Colonel 
Bradstreet, of New York, who, after much solicitation, 
obtained pei-mission to go against Fort Frontenac, which, 
from its position at the foot of Lake Ontario, commanded 
that lake and the St. Lawrence. It was a central point 
for trading with the Indians ; a great magazine which 
supplied all the posts on the ujDper lakes and Ohio with 
military stores. With twenty-seven hundred men, all 
Americans, principally from New York and Massachu- 
setts, Bradstreet jsassed rapidly and secretly to Oswego, 
and thence across the lake in open boats, and landed 
Aug. within a mile of the fort. The majority of the garrison, 
^^- terrified at the sudden appearance of enemies, fled ; the 
next day the remainder surrendered. There was found 
an immense amount of military stores, some of them des- 
tined for Fort Du Quesne, and a fleet of nine armed ves- 



THE HIGHLANDEBS ROUTED. 2S9 

sels, which held the command of the lake. The fort was ^^P- 

razed to its foundation, two of the vessels were laden with 

stores and brought to Oswego ; the remaining stores and 1758. 
ships were destroyed. 

The troops raised in Pennsylvania for the expedition 
under General Forbes against Fort Du Quesne were as- 
sembled at Raystown, on the Juniata. Washington was 
at Cumberland, with the Virginia regiment. His plan 
was to march directly upon the fort by the road which 
Braddock had made. This common-sense plan was re- 
jected, and the suggestions of some land speculators 
adopted, and Forbes ordered a new road to be cut through 
the wilderness further north. 

General Bouquet with the advance passed over the 
Laurel Hill, and established a post at Loyal Hanna. 
Without permission he despatched Major Grant with 
eight hundred Highlanders and a company of Virginians 
to reconnoitre in the vicinity of Fort Du Quesne. Grant Sept, 
was permitted to approach unmolested, though the French 
knew from their scouts of all his movements. As he 
drew near, he sent a party to take a plan of the fort, and 
placed Major Lewis with the Virginians to guard the bag- 
gage, as if they were not to be trusted in the contest. 
Not a gun was fired from the fort. Grant self-compla- 
cently attributed this to the dread his regulars had in- 
spired. All this time the Indians lay quietly in ambush, 
waiting for the signal to commence the attack. Presently 
out rushed the garrison, and attacked the Highlanders in 
front, while in a moment the fearful war-whooj) arose on 
both flanks. Terrified at the unusual contest, they were 
thrown into confusion ; their bewildered officers began to 
manoeuvre them as if in the open field. Major Lewis 
with some of his party hastened to the rescue, and there 
fought hand to hand with the savages. The detachment, 
overpowered by numbers, was completely routed, and 



15. 



260 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. Grant and Lewis were both made prisoners. The fugi- 

'_ tives soon reached the place where they left the baggage. 

1758. Captain Bullit hastily formed a barricade with the wag- 
ons, behind which he waited the approach of the pursuers. 
When they were within a few yards, the Virginians poured 
in a fire so direct and deadly as to check them. They 
soon rallied and again ajjproached. This time, Captain 
Bullit and his men advanced, as if to surrender, but when 
within eight yards he again poured in an effective fire, and 
immediately charged bayonet. The pursuers were so as- 
tonished at the suddenness and manner of attack that 
they fled in dismay, while the Virginians retreated with 
all speed. 

When the news of this disaster reached the main 
army, it well-nigh ruined the whole enterprise ; as a coun- 
cil of war decided to give up the attempt for that year, 
as it was now November, and there were yet fifty miles of 
unbroken forest between them and the fort. Just then 
some prisoners were brought in, from whom the defence- 
less condition of the fort was learned. Wasliington was 
given the command of a division with which to jiush for- 
ward. In a few days they arrived in the neighborhood of 
Du Quesne. Instead of meeting with a vigorous resist- 
ance, they were surprised to learn that the place had been 
abandoned the day before. The French commander had 
blown up his magazines, burned every building that would 
burn, and with his company gone on board of flat-boats 

jfov. and floated down the Ohio. On the twenty-fifth of No- 
25. vember, Washington marched into the deserted fort, and 
jjlanted the English colors. An impulse of grateful feel- 
ing changed the name to Fort Pitt — since Pittsburg, in 
honor of the illustrious man — the first of English states- 
men, who appreciated the character of the American colo- 
nists, and who was willing to do them justice. Situated 
at the head of the Ohio, in a region celebrated for its agri- 
cultural and mineral wealth, and settled by a moral and 



PLAN OF OPERATIONS AGAINST CANADA. 261 

industrious population, it has far exceeded in importance chap. 
any other acquisition made during the war. A fit monu- . — _ 
ment to the memory of the " Great Commoner," 1758. 

The object of the campaign thus secured, Washington, 
leaving two Virginia regiments to garrison the fort, re- 
signed his commission, and retired to private life. In the 
mean time he had been elected a member of the House of 
Burgesses. A few months afterward, on the opening of 
the session, the House, by vote, resolved to receive the 
youthful champion with some befitting manifestation of 
its regard. Accordingly, when he took his seat as a mem- 
ber, the Speaker addressed him, giving him thanks for the 
military services he had rendered his country. Taken by 
surprise, Washington rose to reply, but words were want- 
.ing ; he faltered and blushed. " Sit down, Mr. Washing- 
ton," kindly said the Speaker ; " your modesty equals 
your valor, and that surpasses the power of any language 
I possess." 

This year closed with great advantages to the English. 
The cunning Indians — still true to the winning side — be- 
gan to desert the French, and to form treaties of peace or 
neutrality with their enemies. The comprehensive mind 
of Pitt was devising plans to crush the French power in 
America. He promi)tly paid all the expenses incurred by 
the colonists during the past year, and they with alacrity 
entered into his schemes. Wolfe was to ascend the St. 
Lawrence ; Amherst was to advance by way of Lake Cham- 
plain, and capture Montreal, and then join Wolfe before 
Quebec ; whUe General Prideaux was to capture Fort Ni- 
agara, and then to pass down Lake Ontario to Montreal. 

As Amherst advanced against Ticonderoga, the French 1759. 
abandoned that post, and the others as he approached ; " ^' 
he wasted his time in fortifying the places deserted by the 
enemy, as if they who were so exhausted as to be scarcely 
able to get out of his way, would ever return ! Though 
General Prideaux was unfortunately killed by the burst- 



262 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, ino; of a OTn, yet Sir William Johnson, on whom the com- 

XXIII. O O J J ! 

mand devolved, took Niagara ; and thus the chain which 

1759. joined the French forts of Canada, with those of the val- 
ley of the Mississijipi, was broken forever. 
June The fleet and troojis designed against Quebec, assem- 

^'' bled at Louisburg. In the latter part of June the arma- 
ment arrived at the Isle of Orleans, upon which the troops 
immediately landed. The rock on which stood the citadel 
of St. Louis, could be seen to the west looming up more 
than three hundred feet, bidding defiance to the invaders. 
In the rear were the Heights of Abraham, a plain extend- 
ing for miles, while all along the shore the high cliifs 
seemed to be an impregnable defence. 

To meet this force, Montcalm had only a few enfeebled 
battalions and Canadian militia. The Indians held them- 
selves aloof. The English fleet consisted of twenty-two 
ships of the line, and as many frigates. As master of one 
of these ships was Captain James Cook, afterward cele- 
brated as the discoverer of the many isles of the Pacific. 
Under Wolfe were four young and ardent commanders, 
Kobert Monckton, afterward governor of New York ; 
George Townshend, and James Murray, and also Colonel 
Howe, afterward Sir William, who for a time commanded 
the British army in the American Revolution. 

Quebec, situated on a peninsula between the St. Law- 
rence and the river St. Charles, was defended on three 
sides by these rivers, leaving only the west exposed. The 
lower town was on the beach, while the Tipper was on the 
clifl' two hundred feet above. The high cliffs of the nortli 
shore of the St. Lawrence were deemed a sufficient de- 
fence. It was thought impossible for an army to scale 
them. Below on the St. Lawrence, between the St. 
Charles and the Montmorenci rivers, was Montcalm's 
camp, guarded by many floating batteries and ships of 
war. But the naval superiority of the English soon ren- 
dered them masters on the water. 



THE EESOLVE TO SCALE THE HEIGHTS. 263 

The French troops were driven from Point Levi, di- ™ap- 

rectly opposite Quebec, and Wolfe erected batteries on 

that spot, and began to bombard the lower town, which 1759. 
was soon reduced to ashes ; but owing to the distance, the 
fortress and the upper town could not be injured. Wolfe 
then passed over to the north side of the river, below the 
Montmorenci, intending to pass that stream, and force 
Montcalm to a battle. 

When this design was carried into effect, the first 
division, consisting of the grenadiers, rashly rushed on to 
storm the French lines before the second division could 
come up to sujiport them. They were repulsed, with a 
loss of nearly five hundred men. Diversions were also 
made above the town to induce the enemy to come into 
the open field, but without success. Montcalm merely 
sent De Bougainville with fifteen hundred men to guard 
against these attacks. 

The repulse at Montmorenci occasioned the sensitive July- 
Wolfe much suffering. He looked for the tardy Amherst, 
but in vain ! No tidings came from him, and it seemed 
as if the enterprise, the first under his own command, 
was about to fail. He was thrown into a violent fever by 
his anxiety. As a last resort, it was resolved, in a coun- 
cil held around his bed, to scale the Heights of Abraham. 
In order to do this, the French must be deceived. There- 
fore Captain Cook was sent to take soundings and place 
buoys opposite Montcalm's cam^J, as if that was to be the 
special object of attack. Meantime, the shore for many 
miles above the town, was carefully examined. At one 
place was found a little indentation in the bank, from 
which a path wound up the clifl', — there they determined 
to make the attempt. This is now known as Wolfe's Cove. 
The troops were put on shipboard and suddenly sailed up 
the river, as if intending to pass beyond the French lines 
and there land. At night the ships lay to, and the troops, 
in boats, dropped down with the tide to Wolfe's Cove, fol- 



264 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, lowed by the slnps designed to cover their landing, if neces- 

_i \ sary. As they passed, a French sentinel hailed them with 

1759. the inquiry, " Who goes there .^ " " La France," answer- 
ed a captain. " What regiment ? " " The Queen's "—that 
being one of the regiments up the river with BougainviUe. 
The sentinel was deceived. They passed on to the Cove, 
and quietly landing began to grojie their way up the cliff, 
clinging to the shrubs and rocks for support. In the 
morning the entire army was on the Heights of Abraham, 
ready for battle. 
a^ ^ Montcalm was thimderstruck, when he heard the news. 

■I "It must surely be," said he, "a small party come to 
pillage, and then retire." More correct information re- 
vealed to him the whole truth. There was no time to be 
lost. He sent immediately for the detachment of Bou- 
gainville, which was tifteen miles up the river. The 
Indians and Canadians advanced first, and subjected the 
English to an irregular, and galling fire. Wolfe ordered 
his men to reserve their fire for the French regulars, who 
were rapidly approaching. When they were within forty 
yards, the English poured upon them a stream of musket- 
ry, aided by grape-shot from a few guns dragged up the 
cliff by the sailors. It was a fierce conflict. The respect- 
ive commanders were opposite to each other. Wolfe, al- 
though wounded twice, continued to give his orders with 
clearness ; but as he advanced with the grenadiers, who 
were to make their final charge with the bayonet, he re- 
ceived a ball in the breast. He knew the wound was 
mortal, and when falling said to the officer nearest to 
him : " Let not my brave fellows see me fall." He was 
carried to the rear ; when asked if he would have a sur- 
geon, he answered : " It is needless ; it is all over with 
me." As his life was fast ebbing, the cry was raised — 
" Sec, they run ! they run ! " " Who run ! " asked the 
dying man. " The enemy, sir," was the answer. " Do 
they i-un already ? " he asked with evident surprise. Sum- 



WOLFE AND MONTCALM. 265 

moning his failing energies, " Go one of you, to Colonel ^^^j^- 

Burton," said he ; " tell him to march Webb's regiment 1 

with all speed down to Charles river, to cut off the retreat 1759. 
by the bridge." Then turning upon his side, he mur- ^^' 
mured, " Now God be praised, I die happy." These were 
the last words of the young hero, in whom were centred 
the hopes of his soldiers and of his country. Monckton 
was severely wounded, and the command devolved upon 
Townshend, who, content with being master of the field, 
called the troops from the pursuit. Just at the close of 
the battle Bougainville a^^peared with his division ; but 
the contest was declined. 

There is a peculiar interest attached to the name and 
character of Wolfe. A mind sensitive in its emotions and 
vigorous in its thoughts, animated his feeble body. He 
maintained a love for the quieter paths of literature, even 
amid the excitements of the camp. On the clear star- 
light night preceding the battle, as the boat in which he 
was seated with his officers was silently floating down the 
St. Lawrence, he recited to them that classic poem, 
Gray's " Elegy in a Country Church-yard ; " then just 
published. Death seems to have already cast his dark 
shadow upon him, and doubtless many of the finer pas- 
sages of the poem were in accordance with his subdued and 
melancholy emotions. Then for a time the aspirations 
of the man of feeling and poetic taste triumphed over the 
sterner ambition of the warrior, and at its close he ex- 
claimed : " I would rather be the author of that poem 
than to take Quebec to-morrow." 

The brave and generous Montcalm was mortally 
wounded near the close of the battle. When carried into 
the city, the surgeon informed him that he could survive 
only a few hours. " So much the better," he calmly re- 
plied, " I shall not live to see the surrender of Quebec." 
When asked his advice about defending the city, he an- 



1827. 



266 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

x'xTn ^^^^"^"^^ • " "^0 yo^^^' keeping I commend the honor of 
France. I will neither give orders nor interfere any fur- 

1759. ther ; I have business of greater moment to attend to ; 
my time is short ; I shall pass tliis night with God, and 
prejiare myself for death." He then wrote a letter to the 
English commander, commending to his favor the French 
prisoners. The next morning he died. That generation 
passed away, and with it the animosity which existed be- 
tween the conquerors and the conquered. The united 
people of another generation erected a granite monument, 
on which they inscribed the names of Montcalm and 
Wolfe. 

Sept. Five days after the battle Quebec surrendered. There 

were great rejoicings both in America and England. 
Praises were lavished upon Pitt. He in Parhament re- 
plied, " I will aim to serve my country, but the more a 
man is versed in business, the more he finds the hand of 
Providence everywhere." The next year an attempt was 
made by the French to recover Quebec, but it failed. An 
overwhelming force was brought against Montreal. Re- 
sistance was vain, and Vaudreuil, the governor, surren- 
dered all the French stations on the Lakes. The troops 
were to be sent home, and the Canadians, protected in 
their property, were to enjoy their religious privileges. 
Thus passed away the French j^ower in Canada. Depend- 
ents upon the mother countiy, the inhabitants had never 
exercised the right of self-government ; they lacked the 
energy essential to success as an independent people. 
They have assimilated but little with their conquerors. 
They stiU preserve that gay simplicity of manners, so 
characteristic of their nation, and an ardent attachment 
to the church of their fathers. 

Meantime disturbances had occurred on the south- 
west. The Cherokees had always been the friends of the 
Enghsh, and had undertaken to protect the frontiers south 
of the Potomac, yet for this their warriors, Avhen about to 



WAR WITH THE CHEROKEES. 267 

return home, received no reward from the government — chap. 

not even supplies of food for their journey. What the '. 

State ftiiled to do was done by Washington and his offi- 1758. 
cers, who supplied their wants. The next year more 
Cherokees joined the expedition under Forbes against 
Fort Du Quesne. As they were returning home along 
the western borders of Virginia, to avoid starvation they 
helped themselves to what they wanted. This led to 
quarrels with the backwoodsmen, who killed and scalped 
some of their number. When this was told in the land 
of the Cherokees, it caused sorrow, indignation, and alarm ; 
the women, relatives of those who were slain, poured forth 
deep and bitter wailings for the dead ; the young warriors, 
indignant, armed themselves for revenge ; the old men 
cautioned and counselled, and did all in their power to 
prevent war, but in vain ; two white men fell victims to the 
rage of the young warriors. Tiftoe and five other chieftains 
went to Charleston to beg for peace, and to heal differ- 
ences. The governor, the haughty and arbitrary Lyttle- 
ton, demanded that the young men who, according to the Oct. 
ideas of the sons of the forest, had vindicated the honor '-'^^' 
of their nation, " should be delivered vip or put to death 
in their own land." This, the Cherokees thought, would 
only add fuel to the flame already kindled. The legislature v 

decided unanimously that there was no cause for war. 
News came from the frontier that aU was peaceful ; 
" there were no bad talks." The obstinate governor per- 
sisted in his demand, and created more disturbance. Then 
he told the chiefs who wished for peace to come to him 
and hold a talk, and promised them safe conduct to and 
from Charleston. Trusting to his word, the great warrior 
Oconostata came with thirty others. But Lyttleton must 
obtain for himself the glory of a successful expedition 
against the Cherokees. He called out the militia in spite 
of the remonstrances of the people, of the legislature, and 
of his own council, and basely retained as prisoners, those 



268 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, who had trusted his word. He marched into the country 

of the Cherokees, forced a treaty from a feeble old chief, 

1759. who had no authority to make one, and then returned in 
fancied triumph. Oconostata and a few others were lib- 
erated. The remainder Lyttleton ordered to be kept pris- 
oners at Fort Prince George till twenty-four warriors 
should be given up to him. Oconostata made an attempt 
to liberate his friends. In this efibrt a white man was 
killed ; then, in revenge, the garrison murdered the pris- 
oners. Now the rage of the Cherokees knew no bounds. 
They exclaimed : " The spirits of our murdered brothers 
are flying around us screaming for vengeance." The leg- 
islature strongly condemned the perfidious conduct of 
Lyttleton, and asserted their " birth-rights as British 
subjects," and affirmed that he had " violated their un- 
doubted privileges." Yet this very man received the 
highest commendations from the " Board of Trade." 

The Cherokees, driven to desperation by such treat- 
ment, called to their aid the Muscogees, and sent to 
Louisiana for military supplies. The Carolinians applied 
to General Amherst, who sent them twelve hundred 
l7(;o_ men, principally Highlanders, under General Montgomery. 
They, with the Carolinians, pressed forward, by forced 
marches, into the land of the Cherokees. Why give the 
details of desolated settlements .^ Village after village 
was destroyed, and fertile valleys laid waste. On the 
upper Savannah was the beautiful vale of Keowee, " the 
delight of the Cherokees." They had become so far civil- 
ized as to build comfortable houses, and to surround them 
with cultivated fields. Suddenly appeared the invaders. 
The great majority of the Indians, after an attempt at 
. defence, fled, and from the distant mountain-tops saw the 
enemy burning their houses and destroying their crops. 
" I cannot help pitying them a little," writes Colonel 
Grant ; " their villages are agreeably situated, their houses 



PONTIAC. 269 

neatly built. There were everywhere astonishing maga- ^haP- 
zines of corn, which were all consumed." 

After this dash at the Oherokees, Montgomery imme- 1760. 
diately returned to the north, as ordered by Amherst. 
The Indians were not subdued, but enraged ; thoy con- 
tinued to ravage the back settlements of the Carolinas. 

Immediately after the surrender of Canada, all the 1V63. 
French stations on the lakes were occupied by the con- 
querors, and the little stockade posts throughout all that 
region, and in the valley of the Ohio, were garrisoned by 
a few men, in many instances not exceeding twenty. The 
French, either as traders or as religious teachers, had won 
the confidence and the affection of the Indians, by a 
friendly intercourse extending through more than half a 
century. Was it strange that the contrast appeared 
great to them, between these friends and companions and 
the domineering English soldiers, who insulted their priests 
and vilified their religion ? The French had prohibited 
the trade in rum, but the English introduced the traffic, 
and the demoralization of the Indians commenced. The 
capture of Fort Du Quesne was the signal for a torrent 
of emigration, which poured over the mountains into the 
vaUeys of the Monongahela and Alleghany. The Indians 
feared the pale-faces would drive them from their homes. 

Adopted into the tribe of the Ottawas, was a Catawba, 
who had been brought from the South as a prisoner, but 
who had, by his genius and bravery, risen to be a chief He 
had the most unbounded influence over his own and other 
tribes, and was styled " the king and lord of all the coun- 
try of the north-west." " How dare you come to visit my 
country without my leave ? " demanded he of the first Eng- 
lish officer who came to take possession of the French forts. 
Such was Pontiac, the Philip of the north-west, who, in 
the war which bears his name, made the last great strug- 
gle for the independence of the Ked Man. This master 
spirit planned, and partially executed, one of the most 



270 HISTOKY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, comprehensive schemes ever conceived by Indian sagacity 
to expel the invaders, and maintain his own authority as 



17C3. " king and lord " of aU tliat region. He induced the Del- 
awares, the Shawnees, the Senecas, the Miamis, and many 
lesser tribes, who roamed over the vast region in the basin 
of the upper lakes, in the valley of the Ohio, and a portion 
of that of the Mississippi, to join in the conspiracy. He 
sent a prophet through the land to proclaim that the 
Great Spirit had revealed to him, " that if the English 
were permitted to dwell in their midst, then the white 
man's diseases and poisons would utterly destroy them." 
This conspiracy was more than a year in foi-ming, yet it 
was kept a jirofound secret. 

Detroit had the largest garrison, was the great centre 
for the trade of the upper lakes, and most important in 
its influence. Here the French were numerous ; they 
tilled their farms, as well as engaged in the traffic of furs. 
Pontiac desired to obtain possession of the fort. He inti- 
mated that he was coming with his warriors to have a 
"talk" with his English brothers. Meantime, Gladwin, 
the commander, had learned of the conspiracy. Finding 
that the plot was discovered, Pontiac threw off the mask, 
and boldly attacked the fort, but without success. This 
was the commencement of a series of sui-prises ; the In- 
dians, in the short space of three weeks, captured every 
station west of Niagara, except Detroit and Pittsburg. 
The soldiers of the garrisons were nearly all put to death, 
more than one hundred traders were murdered and scalped 
in the wilderness, and more than five hundred families, 
/after losing hundreds of their members, were driven from 
their homes on the frontiers. A lai-ge force from several 
tribes concentrated around Pittsburg, the most important 
post in the valley of tlie Ohio ; yet the brave garrison 
could not be caught by their wiles, nor conquered by their 
arms. Their ravages, in the mean while, extended to all 



INDIANS DEFEATED PITTSBTTKG EELIEVED. 271 

the settlements and posts on the head-waters of the Ohio, ctap. 

and on the lakes to the region between the Mississippi . 1 

and the Ohio. 1763. 

General Bouquet was sent from Eastern Pennsylvania 
to relieve Fort Ligonier, just at the western foot of the 
mountains, and Pittsburg. His army consisted of not 
more than five hundred effective men, principally Scotch 
Highlanders. They had with them a train of wagons, 
drawn by oxen, and pack-horses laden with miUtary stores 
and necessary provisions, and a drove of beef cattle. 
Passing through a region desolated by the savages, they 
saw the remains of burnt cabins, and the harvests stand- 
ing uncut in the fields. 

When he arrived at Ligonier, Bouquet could learn 
nothing from the west, as all intercourse had been cut off. 
Leaving there his wagons and cattle, he pushed forward 
to ascertain the fate of Pittsburg. The Indians besieging 
that place, heard of his approach, and they resolved to 
place themselves in ambush, and defeat his army. As 
soon as the battle began, the Highlanders dashed at them 
with the bayonet, and the Indians fled ; but wlien the 
pursuit slackened they rallied, and were again repulsed. 
At length, the number of the savages increased so much 
that they completely surrounded the Highlanders, who, 
during the night, encamped on the ridge of a hill. In the 
morning they could not advance, for their wounded men 
and baggage would fall into the hands of the enemy. 
Placing two companies in ambush, Bouquet began to re- 
treat, and immediately, with exulting yells, the Indians 
rushed on in pursuit, but when they came to the right 
point, those in ambush charged them on both sides, and 
those retreating wheeled and charged also. Panic-stricken 
by the suddenness of the attack, the savages broke and 
fled. The division then moved on to Pittsburg. From 
that day the valley of the Ohio was free from Indian vio- 



272 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, lence. The stream of emigration began again to pour 

over the mountains. The tribes, disheartened, began to 

1764. make treaties and promise peace. Pontiac would make 

no treaty, nor acknowledge himself a friend of the English. 

He left his home and tribe and went to the countiy of the 

Illinois, where he perished by the hand of an assassin, who 

was hired for the purpose. 



CHAPTEE XXIV. 

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE COLONISTS. 

Religious Influences among the earlier Settlers. — The later Emigrants ; their 
Influence. — Love of domestic Life. — Laws enjoining Morality. — Sys- 
tems of Education ; Common Schools.— John Calvin.— The Southerner ; 
the Northerner. — The Anglo-Saxon Element ; the Norman. — Influences 
in Pennsylvania ; in New Yoii. — Diversity of Ancestry. 

The conquest of Canada had removed appreliensions of chap. 

war with France, or of incursions by the Indians. The '_ 

colonists naturally turned to their own affairs. They 176O. 
were poor and in debt ; a seven years' war had been within 
their borders ; their men had been drawn from the labor 
of industry to the battle-field. Yet that war, with its 
evils, had conferred benefits. It had made known to them 
their strength, and success had given them confidence. 

Before relating the events that led to the Eevolution, 
let us take a rapid survey of the people, who were soon to 
take their place among the nations of the earth. 

From the first they were an intelligent and a religious 
people. They were untrammelled in the exercise of their 
religion, and its spirit moulded public sentiment in aU 
the colonies, whether settled by the Puritan or the Church- 
man, by the Dutch Calvinist or the Quaker, by the 
Huguenot or the Scotch-Irish Presbyterian. The two 
latter were of more recent emigration ; they did not di- 
minish the high tone of morals already sustained by the 
earlier settlers. 

18 



274 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

t:nAP. The Huguenots came in small companies, and seldom 

[ settled together in large numbers, but mingled with the 

1760. colonists, and conformed more and more to their customs, 
and, in time, became identified with them in interests. 
Calvinists in doctrine, they generally united with either 
the Episcopal or Presbyterian churches, and by their piety 
and industrious habits exerted an influence that amply 
repaid the genuine hospitality with which they were every- 
where received. 

The Scotch-Irish Presbyterians displayed the indomi- 
table energy and perseverance of their ancestors, with the 
same morality and love of their church. Even those who 
took post on the outskirts of civilization along the western 
frontiers of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and North 
Carolina, had their pastor, and trained their children in 
Bible truth, in the catechism, obedience to parents, — 
a wholesome doctrine practically enforced by all the colo- 
nists, — and reverence for the Sabbath and its sacred duties. 
They were a people decided iu their character. They 
emigrated from their native land to enjoy civil and relig- 
ious privileges, but they had also an eye to the improve- 
ment of their temporal affairs. 

The endearments of home and of the domestic fireside 
had charms for the colonists of every creed. The educa- 
tion of their cliildren was deemed a religious duty, while 
around their households clustered the comforts and many 
of the refinements of the times. The example of their 
ancestors, who had sought in the wilderness an asylum, 
where they might enjoy their religion, had not been in 
vain ; a traditionary religious spirit had come down from 
those earlier days, and now pervaded the minds of the 
people. 

Though there was neither perfect uniformity in their 
forms of worship, nor in their interpretation of religious 
doctrines, yet one sentiment was sacred in the eyes of all — 
a reverence for the day of Holy Kest. The influences 



LAWS ENJOINING MORALITY. 275 

connected with the Sabbath, and impressed from week to ^^• 

week, penetrated their inner life, and like an all-pervading 1 

moral antiseptic preserved, in its purity, the religious 1760. 
character of the entire people. 

The laws of a people may be taken as the embodiment 
of their sentiments. Those enacted by our forefathers 
may excite a smile, yet they show that they were no time- 
servers — that they were conscientious and in earnest. 

In New England the laws noticed those who dressed 
more richly than their wealth would justify ; they would 
not permit the man who defrauded his creditors to live in 
luxury ; those who did not vote, or would not serve when 
elected to office, they fined for their want of patriotism ; 
they forbade " drinking of healths as a bad habit ; " they 
prohibited the wearing of embroidered garments and laces ; 
they discouraged the use of " ribbons and great boots ; " 
sleeves must reach to the wrist, and not be more than 
half an ell wide ; no one under twenty years of age was 
allowed to use tobacco, unless prescribed by a physician ; 
those who used it publicly were fined a sixpence ; all per- 
sons were restrained from " swimming in the waters on 
the Sabbath-day, or unreasonably walking in the fields or 
streets." 

In Virginia we see the same spirit. In every settle- 
ment there was to be "a house for the worship of God." 
Divine service was to be in accordance with the canons of 
the Church of England. Absence from church was pun- 
ished by a fine ; the wardens were sworn to report cases 
of " drunkenness, swearing, and other vices." The drunk- 
ards were fined, the swearers also, at the rate of " a shil- 
ling an oath ; " slanderers and tale-bearers were punished ; 
travelling or shooting on the Sabbath forbidden. The 
minister was not to addict himself •' to excess in drinking 
or riot, nor play cards or dice, but to hear or read the 
Holy Scriptures, catechize the children, and visit the 
sick." The wardens were bound to report the masters 



276 HISTOKY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

™^P. and mistresses " who neglected to catechize the ignorant 

persons under their charge." In the Carolinas laws of a 

1760. similar character were enacted ; and, in Pennsylvania, 
against " stage plays, playing of cards, dice, May-games, 
masques, and revels." 

Although, at the time of which we write, many of 
these, and similar laws had become obsolete, yet the influ- 
ences which dictated them had, for one hundred and fifty 
years, been forming the character of the colonists. Hedged 
in on the one side by the ocean, and on the other by 
a howling wilderness filled with hostile savages, they 
acquired a certain energy of character, the result of 
watchfulness, and an individuality, which to this day dis- 
tinguishes their descendants. 

While emigrants were flocking to the colonies, these 

influences were somewhat disturbed, but for three-quarters 

1688. of a century — since the great revolution in England had 

restrained the hand of oppression — emigration had been 

gradually diminishing. 

Thus uninfluenced from without, the political and re- 
ligious principles with which they were imbued had time 
to produce their fruit. A national sentiment, a oneness 
of feeling among the people, grew into vigorous being. 
The common schools of New England had exerted their 
undivided influence for almost three generations ; the 
youth left them with that conscious self-reliance which 
springs spontaneously in the intelligent mind — a pledge 
of success in things great as well as small. These schools, 
no doubt, gave an impulse to female education. In the 
earlier days of New England the women were taught to 
read, but very few to write. "The legal papers executed 
in the first century (of the colony) by well-to-do women, 
were mostly signed by a mark, ( X ) ". ' The custom of 

' Elliott's History of New England, vol. i. p. 428. 



EDUCATION FREE INQUIRY AND CIVIL LIBERTY. 277 

settling in townships or villages made it easy to support ™j^- 
common schools. 

In the middle colonies, especially Pennsylvania and 1760. 
New York, a system of general education had not been 
introduced ; the diversity of sects prevented. In the 
South, except partially in Maryland, common schools were 
not adopted. The owners of slaves usually held large 
tracts of the best lands, while the less wealthy were com- 
pelled to retire to the outskirts of the settlements, where 
they could obtain farms. The population was thus so 
much scattered, that generally children could not be con- 
centrated at particular places in sufficient numbers to 
sustain schools. Those who, for want of means, could not 
employ private teachers, taught their own children as best 
they could. Among this class, from year to year, there 
was but little increase in general intelligence. The 
wealthy employed private instructors, or sent their chil- 
dren abroad. As the nation increased in knowledge, the 
people cherished the right to exercise free thought and 
free speech. 

Our ancestors lived not for themselves alone. With 
the prophet's vision, and the patriot's hope, they looked 
forward to the day, when all this continent would be un- 
der the influence of their descendants, and they a Chris- 
tian people. Was it strange they were self-denying and 
in earnest, in endeavoring to spread the blessings of 
education and religion, as the greatest boon they could 
transmit to their posterity .^ Thus they labored to found 
institutions of learning ; they encouraged the free ex- 
pression of opinion. From the religious freedom of con- 
science, which they proclaimed as the doctrine of the 
Bible, the transition was easy to pohtical freedom. The 
advocate of free inq^uiry became the advocate of civil lib- 
erty, and the same stroke which broke the chain binding 
the word of God to the interpretation of the church, shat- 
tered the fetters binding the political slave. 



278 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. '. Mucli of this sentiment may be traced to the influence 

exerted by the opinions of one man, John Calvin. " We 

17G0. boast of our common schools, Calvin was the father of 
popular education, the inventor of free schools. The pil- 
grims of PljTQOutli were Calvinists ; the best influence of 
South Carolina came from the Calvinists of France. Wil- 
liam Penn was the disciple of the Huguenots ; the ships 
from Holland that first brought colonists to Manhattan 
were filled with Calvinists. He that will not honor the 
memoiy and respect the influence of Calvin, knows but 
little of the origin of American liberty. He bequeathed 
to the world a republican spirit in religion, witb the kin- 
dred principles of republican liberty." ' 

There were slight differences of character between the 
people of the several colonies. In the eastern, the diffi- 
cidties arising from a sterile soil had made the people 
industrious and frugal. There, labor was always honorable, 
and when the day came " which tried men's souls," great 
numbers of the prominent men came from the ranks of 
manual labor. The Anglo-Saxon element greatly pre- 
dominated among the colonists of New England. As 
simple in manners as rigid in morals, a truly democratic 
s\nnt and love of liberty pervaded their minds, and hence 
political constitutions of whose benefits all were partici- 
pants. The Norman element jDrevaUcd more in the South, 
especially in Virginia. Here the wealthy colonists were 
more aristocratic in spirit and feeling ; were more refined 
and elegant in manners. This aristocratic spirit was fos- 
tered, in time, by the system of slavery, while the dis- 
tinctions in society arising from the possession of wealth 
were greatly increased. In all the southern colonies, the 
mildness of the climate, the labor of slaves, and the ready 
sale of their tobacco, rice, and indigo, made the acquisition 
of wealth comparatively easy. The planter, " having 



o 



' Bancroft's Miscellanies, pp. 405-6. 



INFLUENCES IN PENNSYLVANIA. 279 

more leisure, was more given to pleasures and amuse- ™|^- 

ments — to the sports of tlie turf, the cock-pit, the chase, 

and the gaming-table. His social habits often made him 1760. 
profuse, and plunged him in debt to the English or Scotch 
merchant, who sold his exported products and furnished 
him his foreign supplies. He was often improvident, and 
sometimes not punctual in his pecuniary engagements." ' 
The planters were hospitable. Living upon isolated plan- 
tations, they were in a measure deprived of social inter- 
course ; but when opportunity served, they enjoyed it 
with a relish. As the. Southerner was hospitable, so the 
Northerner was charitable. From the hard earnings of the 
farmer, of the mechanic, of the merchant, of the seafaring 
man, funds were cheerfully given to support schools, to 
endow colleges, or to sustain the ordinances of the gospel. 
In the South, colleges were principally endowed by royal 
grants. 

In Pennsylvania was felt the benign influence of the 
disciples of George Fox, and its benevolent founder. The 
friends of suifering humanity, the enemies of war, the 
opponents of classes and ranks in society founded on mere 
birth, they recognized merit wherever found. There the 
human mind was untrammelled — conscious of a right de- 
rived from a higher authority than conventional law ; 
there public posts were open to all — no tests intervened 
as a barrier. At this time the ardent aspirations of Ben- 
jamin Franklin in the pursuit of science received the 
sympathy of the people. In Philadelphia he was the 
means of founding an academy and free school, which grew 
into a university. Here was founded the first medical col- 
lege in the colonies, the first public library, and the first 
hospital. Here, Bartram, the botanist, founded the first 
botanic garden ; and here was formed the American Phil- 
osophical Society. Here lived Godfrey, the inventor of 
the quadrant, which bears the name of Hadley. 

'Tucker's History of the United States, vol. i, p. 97. 



280 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP In New York, " the key of Canada and the lakes," 

XXIV. 

were blended many elements of character. Here com- 

1760. merce began to prevail, and here the arbitrary laws of the 
Board of Trade were vigorously opposed, and so often 
eluded, that Holland derived more benefit from the trade 
than England herself It cost nearly as much as the 
amount of the import duties to maintain the cruisers and 
the " Commissioners of Customs.'' The " Dutch Kepub- 
licans " had been for nearly a century pupils in the school 
where the " rights of Enghshmen " were taught ; they 
profited so much by the instruction, that they paid very 
little attention to the king's prerogative, and thought 
their own Legislature quite as respectable as the House of 
Commons. 

Although the great majority of the Americans were 
the descendants of EngUshmen, yet there were represent- 
atives from Scotland, from Ireland, from Wales, from 
France, from Holland, from Germany, from Sweden, and 
from Denmark. In religion, there were Churchmen and 
Dissenters, Quakers and Catholics. Though they differed 
in many minor points, and indulged in those little ani- 
mosities wliich unfortunately too often arise between peo- 
ple of difierent nations and religions, yet they cherished a 
sympathy for each other. They were aU attached to the 
mother country — the South, perhaps, more than the North; 
the former had not experienced so severely the iron hand 
of royal rule. Some strong external pressure was required 
to bind them more closely together, if ever they were to 
become an independent nation. That external pressure 
was not long wanting. 



CHAPTEE XXV. 

CAUSES WHICH LED TO THE REVOLUTION. 

Restrictions of Trade and Manufactures. — Taxes imposed by Parliament. — 
Writs of Assistance. — James Otis. — Samuel Adams. — The "Parsons'" 
Case in Virginia. — Patrick Henry. — A Stamp Tax threatened. — Colonel 
Barre's Speech.— The Stamp Act. — Excitement in the Colonies. — Henry 
in the House of Burgesses. — Resolutions not to use Stamps. — " Sons 
of Liberty." — A Call for a Congress ; it meets, and the Colonial As- 
semblies approve its Measures. — Merchants refuse to purchase English 
Merchandise.— Self-denial of the Colonists. — Pitt defends them. — 
Franklin at the Bar of the House of Commons. — Stamp Act repealed. — 
Rejoicings. — Dartmouth College. 

The industrious habits of the colonists were no less wor- *^^' 

thy of notice than their moral traits. The contest with 

the mother country had its origin in her attempts to de- 1750. 
prive them, by means of unjust laws, of the fruits of their 
labor. For one hundred years she had been imposing 
restrictions on their trade and domestic manufactures. 
They were treated as dependants, and inferiors who 
occupied " settlements estabhshed in distant parts of the 
world for the benefit of trade." They could purchase 
from England alone, and only to her market could they 
send their products. That English merchants might 
grow rich at their expense, the products of Europe and 
Asia were first to be landed in England, and then re- 
shipped to America in British vessels. The only trade 
not thus taxed, was that of negroes, they being shipped 
directly from Africa — a trade against which all the colo- 
nies earnestly, but in vain, protested. Even the trees 



282 HISTOEY OF THK UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, in the forest suitable for masts were claimed by tbe 
king, and marked by his " Surveyor-General of Woods." 

1750. " Rolling mills, forges, or tilt-hammers for making iron," 
were prohibited as " nuisances." The House of Commons 
said " that the erection of manufactories in the colonies 
tended to lessen their dei^endency upon Great Britain ; " 
and the English ship-carpenters comjalained " that their 
trade was hurt, and their workmen emigrated, since so 
many vessels were built in New England." The hatter, 
because he coidd obtain his fur from the Indians without 
sending to England, was not permitted to sell hats out of 
his own colony. No manufacturer was permitted to have 
more than two apprentices. The government was unwil- 
ling that the colonists should make for themselves a single 
article which the English could supply. 

These measures aroused a spirit of opposition, more 
especially among the frugal and industrious inhabitants 
of New England, whose manufactures, fisheries, and trade 
were almost ruined. There the people mutually agreed 
to buy of British manufacturers only what was absolutely 
necessary ; rather than pay the English merchant exorbi- 
tant prices, they would deprive themselves of every luxury. 
Families determined to make their own linens and wool- 
lens, and to abstain from eating mutton, and preserve the 
sheep to furnish wool. It became fashionable, as well as 
honorable, to wear homespun. Associations were formed 
to promote domestic manufactures. On the anniversary' 
of one of these, more than three hundred young women 
met on Boston Common, and devoted the day to spinning 
flax. The graduating class of Harvard College, not to be 
outdone in patriotism, made it a point on Commencement 
Day to be clad in homespun. Eestrictions on trade did not 
affect the interests of the people of the South so much, 
as England could not dispense with their tobacco, rice, 
and indigo, and they had scarcely any manufactories. 

1763. Before the close of the French war, it was intimated 



WRITS OF ASSISTANCE. 283 

that England intended to tax the colonies, and make ^^^P- 

them hear a portion of the burdens brought upon herself 

by the mismanagement of her officials. Many plans were 1763. 
discussed and laid aside. Meantime the colonists denied 
the right of Parhament to tax them without granting 
them, in some form, representation in the government ; 
they claimed a voice in the disposal of their money. They 
looked back upon their history, and were unable to dis- 
cover the obligations they owed the king. They loved to 
think of Old England as the " home " of their fathers ; 
they rejoiced in her glories and successes, and never 
dreamed of separating from her, until driven to that re- 
solve by oppression. Yet visions of greatness, and it may 
be of independence, were floating through the minds of 
the far-seeing. John Adams, when a youth, had already 
written : " It looks likely to me, for if we can remove the 
turbulent Gallicks, our people, according to the exactest 
computations, will in another century become more nu- 
merous than England itself. Should this be the case, 
since we have, I may say, aU the naval stores of the nation 
in our hands, it will be easy to obtain the mastery of the 
seas ; and then the united force of all Europe will not be 
able to subdue us." ' 

A special efibrt was now made to enforce the naviga- 
tion laws, and to prevent the colonists from trading with 
other nations. This policy woidd have converted the en- 
tire people into a nation of smugglers and law-breakers, 
but for the strong religious influences felt throughout the 
laud. 

To enforce these laws. Parliament gave authority for 
using general search warrants, or " Writs of Assistance." i7qi_ 
These Writs authorized any sheriff or officer of the 
customs to enter a store or private dwelling, and search 
for foreign merchandise, which he suspected had not paid 

'Life and Writings, vol. i. p. 23. 



284 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

cn^- duty. The quiet of the domestic fireside was no longer 

to be held sacred. These Writs, first used in Massa- 

1761. chusetts, caused great excitement and opiDosition. Their 
legality was soon brought to the test in a court of justice. 
On this occasion the eloquent James Otis sounded the 
note of alarm. He was the Advocate for the Admiralty, 
whose duty it was to argue in favor of the Writs ; but he 
resigned, in order to plead the cause of the people. The 
royahst lawyer contended that the power of Parliament 
was supreme, and that good subjects ought to submit to 
its every enactment. In reply, Otis exclaimed : " To my 
Feb. (lying day, I will oppose, with all the power and faculties 
God has given me, all such instruments of slavery, on the 
one hand, and villany on the other." His stirring elo- 
quence gave an impulse to public opinion, which aroused 
opposition to other acts of Parliament. " Then and 
there," says John Adams, " was the first opposition to 
arbitrary acts of Great Britain. Then and there Ameri- 
can Independence was born." The writs were scarcely 
ever enforced after this trial. 

Of the leading men of the times, none had greater in- 
fluence than Samuel Adams — in his private life, the 
devout Christian ; in his public life, the incorruptible 
patriot. lu him the spirit of the old Puritans seemed to 
linger : mild in manners, living from choice in retire- 
ment, incapable of an emotion of fear, when duty called 
him to a post of danger. Learned in constitutional law, 
he never went beyond its limits. Through his influence 
Boston expressed her opinions, saying, " We claim Brit- 
ish rights, not by charter only — we are born to them. If 
we are taxed without our consent, our property is taken 
without our consent, and then we are no more freemen, 
but slaves." And she invited all the colonies to join in 
obtaining redress. The same note of alarm was sounded 
in Virginia, in New York, in Connecticut, and in the 
Carolinas. Thinking minds saw in the future the coming 



Dec. 



THE king's PREKOGATIVE PATRICK HENRY. 285 

contest ; that the English ministry would persist in their chap. 

unjust treatment, until, in self-defence, they had driven J 

the whole American peojjle to open rebellion. " They 17C1. 
wish to make us dependent, but they will make us inde- 
pendent ; these oppressions will lead us to unite and thus 
secure our liberty." Thus wrote Richard Henry Lee, of 
Virginia. " Oh ! poor New England," exclaimed the elo- 
quent George Whitefield, "there is a deep-laid plot 
against your liberties ; your golden days are ended." 

The first collision in Virginia between the prerogative 1T63. 
of the king and the authority of the legislature occurred 
in a county court. Tobacco was the legalized currency 
of the colony. Occasionally, untoward events, such as 
war, or failure of the crop, made payments in tobacco very 
burdensome. The legislature passed a law, authorizing 
debtors to pay their piiblic dues in money, at the rate of 
twopence a pound for the tobacco due. The clergymen 
of the established church refused to acquiesce in the law ; 
they had a fixed salary of a certain number of pounds of 
tobacco a year. At their instance, Sherlock, the Bishop 
of London, used his influence and persuaded the king to 
refuse his signature to this law. " The rights of the cler- 
gy and the authority of the king must stand or fall 
together," said the Bishop. The law was therefore null 
and void. 

To test it, a clergyman named Maury brought a suit 
to recover damages, or the diiference between twopence 
per pound and the higher price for which tobacco was 
selling. It became the cause of the people on the one 
side, and the cause of the clergy and of the king's pre- 
rogative on the other. The people engaged a young man 
of twenty-seven to plead against " the parsons." 

That young man was Patrick Henry. He belonged 
not to the aristocracy, and was obscure and unknown. 
On this occasion, that rare and wonderful gift of eloquence, 
which has made us so familiar with his name, was first 



286 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, displayed. He possessed a charm of voice and tone that 

fascinated his hearers ; a grasp of thought, a vividness of 

1763. conception, and withal a power that allured into sympathy 
with his own sentiments the emotions of his audience. 
For this he was indebted to nature, not to education ; for, 
when a boy, he broke away from the restraints of school 
and the drudgery of book-learning, and lounged idly by 
some solitary brookside vfith hook and line, or in more 
active moods dashed away into the woods to enjoy the ex- 
citements of the chase. He learned a little of Latin, of 
Greek not more than the letters, and as little of mathe- 
matics. At eighteen he married, engaged in trade, and 
failed ; tried farming with as little success ; then read 
law six weeks, and was admitted to the bar. Yet the 
mind of this young man had not been idle ; he lived in a 
world of deep thought ; he studied men. He was now to 
appear for the first time as an advocate. 

The whole colony was interested in the trial, and the 
court-room was crowded with anxious spectators. Maury 
made objections to the jury; he thought them of "the 
vulgar herd," " dissenters," and " New Lights." " They 
are honest men," rejoined Henry. The court overruled 
the insulting objections, and the jury M'ere sworn. 

The case was plainly against him, but Henry con- 
tended the law was valid, and enacted by competent au- 
thority ; he fell back upon the natural right of Virginia 
to make her own laws, independently of the king and par- 
liament. He proved the justness of the law ; he sketched 
the character of a good king, as the father of his people, 
but who, when he annuls good laws becomes a tyrant, and 
forfeits all right to obedience. At this doctrine, so new, 
so daring, the audience seemed to stand aghast. " He 
has spoken treason," exclaimed the opposing counsel. A 
few joined in the cry of Treason ! treason ! Yet the jury 
brought in a verdict for the " parsons " of a penny dam- 
ages. 



THE STAMP ACT. 287 

Henry denied the right of the king to aid in making cbap. 

laws for the colonies. His argument ajiplied not only to 

Virginia, but to the continent. The sentiment spread 1763. 
from colony to colony. 

Parliament assumed the right to tax the Americans, 
and paid no attention to their protests, but characterized 
them as " absurd," " insolent," " mad." "When they ex- 
postulated with Grenville, the Prime Minister, he warned 
them that in a contest with England they would gain 
nothing. The taxes must be levied at all events ; and 
he graciously asked if there was any form in which they 
would rather pay them than by means of the threatened 
stamps. These were to be affixed to all documents used 
in trade, and for them a certain impost duty was charged. 
Only the English merchants whose interests were involved 
in the American trade, appear to have sympathized with 
the colonists. Franklin, who was then in London as agent 
for the Assembly of Pennsylvania, wrote home : " Every 
man in England regards himself as a piece of a sovereign 
over America, seems to jostle himself into the throne 
with the king, and talks of our subjects in the colonies." 

The Stamp Act did not pass without a struggle. Dur- 
ing these discussions. Colonel Barre, who, in the war 
against the French, was the friend and companion of 
Wolfe, charged the members of the House of Commons 
with being; ignorant of the true state of the colonies. 
When Charles Townshend, the Chancellor of the Ex- 
chequer, asked the question, " Will our American chil- 
dren, planted by our care, nourished by our indulgence, 
and protected by our arms, grudge to contribute their mite 
to relieve us from our burdens ? " Barre indignantly re- 
plied : " They planted by your care ! No, your oppres- 
sions planted them in America. They fled from your 
tyranny to an uncultivated, inhospitable country ; where 
they exposed themselves to almost every hardship, and to 
the cruelties of the savage foe. They nourished by your 



1765. 



288 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, indulgence ! They grew by your neglect ; your care for 

them was to send persons to rule them ; deputies of dep- 

1765. uties, to some members of this house, sent to spy out their 
liberties, to misrepresent their actions, and to prey upon 
them ; men who have caused the blood of those sons of 
liberty to recoil within them. They protected by your 
arms ! They have nobly taken up arms in your defence. 
Amidst their constant and laborious industry they have 
defended a country whose frontiers were drenched in blood, 
while its interior settlements yielded all their httle savings 
to your emoluments. I speak the genuine sentiments of 
my heart. They are a people as truly loyal as any sub- 
jects of the king ; they are jealous of their liberties, and 
will vindicate them, if ever they should be violated." 

But very few of the members of the house were thus 
liberal in their sentiments. The great majority looked 
upon the colonies as subservient to the rule of the mother 
country. It was the express intention of the ministry 
" to be very tender in taxing them, beginning with small 
duties and taxes," and advancing as they foimd them 
willing to bear it. 

The House of Commons, on March 22d, passed the 
Stamp Act by a majority of nine to one ; ten days after- 
ward it passed the House of Lords almost unanimously. 
The king was ill ; mystery whispered of some unusual 
disease. When George III. signed the Stamp Act, he 
was not a responsible being — he was insane. 

This act declared that every written agreement be- 
tween persons in trade, to be valid, must have affixed to 
it one of these stamps. Their price was in proportion to 
the importance of the writing ; the lowest a shilling, and 
thence increasing indefinitely. Truly this " was to take 
money without an equivalent." All business must be 
thus taxed, or suspended. 

In order to enforce this act. Parliament, two months 
afterward, authorized the ministry to send as many troops 



KESOLUTIONS OF THE VIRGINIA ASSEMBLY. 289 

as they saw iiroper to America. For these soldiers the ^^'^• 

colonies were required to find " quarters, fuel, cider or 

rum, candles, and other necessaries." 1765. 

The news of the passage of these arbitrary laws threw 
the people into a ferment. They became acquainted with 
each other's views ; the subject was discussed in the news- 
papers, was noticed in the pulpits, and became the en- 
grossing topic of conversation in social intercourse. In 
the Virginia Assembly, Patrick Henry introduced resolu- 
tions declaring that the people of Virginia were only bound 
to pay taxes imposed by their own Legislature, and any 
person who maintained the contrary should be deemed an 
enemy of the colony. An exciting debate followed, in 
which the wonderful power of Henry in describing the 
tyranny of the British government swayed the majority 
of the members. In the midst of one of his bursts of 
eloquence he exclaimed : " Cfesar had his Brutus, Charles 
I. his Cromwell, and George III." — "Treason! trea- May. 
son ! " shouted the Speaker, and a few others joined him 
in the cry. Henry fixed his eye upon the Speaker, and 
in the tone and emphasis peculiar to himself, continued, 
" may profit by their example. If that be treason, make 
the most of it." The resolutions passed, but the next 
morning, in Henry's absence, the timid in the Assembly 
rescinded the last, and modified the others. The governor 
immediately dissolved the house for this free expression of 
opinion. Meantime, a manuscript copy of the resolutions 
was on its way to Philadelphia, where they were speedily 
printed and sent throughout the country. They raised 
the drooping spirits of the people, who determined to neu- 
tralize the law — they would never use the stamps. 

The Legislature of Massachusetts resolved that the 
courts should conduct their business without their use. 
Golden, the royalist governor of New York, thought 
" that the presence of a battalion would prevent mis- 
chief ; " but the council suggested, " it would be more 
19 



290 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

C^^- safe for the government to show a confidence in the peo- 

pie." " I will cram the stamps down their throats with 

1765. my sword," said an officer. The churchmen preached 
obedience to the king — the " Lord's anointed." William 
Livingston answered, " The peoisle are the ' Lord's anoint- 
ed,' though named ' mob and rabble ' — the people are the 
darling of Providence." 

Colonel Barre, in his famous speech, characterized 
those in America who opposed British oppression, as 
" Sons of Liberty." He read them rightly ; Sons of Lib- 
erty they were, and destined to be free ; they felt it ; they 
adopted the name, it became the watchword under which 
they rallied. Associations called by this name sprang up 
as if by magic, and in a few weeks spread from Massachu- 
setts to Maryland. They would neither use stamps nor 
permit the distributers to remain in office. 

One morning the famous Liberty Tree in Boston was 
found decorated with the effigies of some of the friends of 
the English ministry. The mob compelled Oliver, the 
secretary of the colony, who had been appointed stamp 
distributer, to resign, and promise that he would not aid 

Aug. in their distribution. They also attacked the houses of 
some of the other officials. The patriots protested against 
these lawless proceedings. Five hundred Connecticut 
farmers came into Wethersfield and compelled Jared 
Ingersol, the stamp officer for that colony, to resign, and 
then take off his hat and give three cheers for " Liberty, 
Property, and no stamps." Such was the feeling, and 

Nov. such the result, that when the day came, on which the 
law was to go into effect, not one stamp officer could be 
found — all had resigned. 

June. The General Court of Massachusetts issued a circular 

in June, inviting all the colonies to send delegates to a 
convention or Congress, to be held at New York, on the 
first Tuesday of the following October. Accordingly, on 



THE CONGRESS IN SESSION. . 291 

the day named delegates from nine of the colonies met at chm>. 
the place appointed. 

The idea of a union of the colonies dates as far back 1765. 
as the days of William Penn, who was the first to suggest 
it ; but now the question was discussed by the various 
committees of correspondence. At a convention which 
met at Albany eleven years before this, Benjamin Frank- 
lin had proposed a plan of union. This was adopted and 
laid before the Assemblies of the colonies, and the Board 
of Trade, for ratification. It met with a singular fate. 
The AssembUes rejected it, because it was too aristocratic, 
and the Board of Trade because it was too democratic. 

The Congress met and spent three weeks in delibera- Ot., 
tion. They drew up a Declaration of Eights, a Memorial 
to both Houses of ParKameut, and a Petition to the king. 
They claimed the right of being taxed only by their own 
representatives, premising, that because of the distance, 
and for other reasons, they could not be represented in the 
House of Commons, but in their own Assemblies. These 
documents were signed by nearly all the delegates, and 
transmitted to England. The colonial Assemblies, at 
their earliest days of meeting, gave to these proceedings 
of the Congress their cordial approval. Thus the Union 
was consummated, by which the colonies " became as a 
bundle of sticks which could neither be bent nor broken." 
While the Congress was in session, a ship with stamps on 
board made its appearance in the bay. Placards were 
posted throughout the city, threatening those who should 
attempt to use them. " I am resolved to have the stamps 
distributed," said Colden, the governor. " Let us see 
who will dare to put the act into execution," said the 
Sons of Liberty. 

On the last day of October all the royal governors, 
except the governor of Pihode Island, took the oath to 
carry into execution the Stamp Act. On the next day the 
law was to go into effect. But not a stamp was to be 



292 HISTOKY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, seen ; instead, in every colony the bells were tolled, and 

the flags lowered to half-mast — indications that the pas- 

1V65. sage of this act was regarded as " the funeral of liberty." 
The merchants of New York, Boston, and Philadel- 
phia, agreed to send no orders to England for merchan- 
dise, to countermand those already sent, and to receive no 
goods on commission till the act was repealed. They were 
sustained by the people, who pledged themselves not to use 
the products of English manufacturers, but to encourage 
their own. Circulars were sent throughout the land in- 
viting to harmonious action ; these were responded to 
with a hearty good-will. Luxuries were dispensed with, 
and homespun was more honorable than ever. 

The infatuated ministry, in view of this opposition, 
resolved to modify, not to repeal the law. It would de- 
tract from their dignity, to comply with the request of the 
colonists. " Sooner," said one of them, " than make our 
colonies our allies, I would wish to see them returned to 
their primitive deserts." 
1766. Infirm health had compelled Pitt to retire from active 

life. " My resolution is taken," said he, " and if I can 
crawl or be carried to London, I will deliver my inind and 
heart upon the state of America." When accused by 
Grenville of exciting sedition, " Sir," said he in replj^, 
" I have been charged with giving birth to sedition in 
America. Sorry I am to have the liberty of speech in 
this house imputed as a crime. But the imputation will 
not deter me ; it is a liberty I mean to exercise. The 
gentleman tells us that America is obstinate ; that Amer- 
ica is almost in rebellion. I rejoice that America has re- 
sisted." The sentiment startled the house ; he continued : 
" If they had submitted, they would have voluntarily be- 
come slaves. They have been driven to madness by injus- 
tice. My opinion is, that the Stamp Act should be repealed, 
absolutely, totally, immediately." The celebrated Edmund 



THE STAMP ACT REPEALED — REJOICINGS. 293 

Burke, then a young man rising into notice, advocated the chap. 

, ' . , • ° ° ' XXV. 

repeal with great eloquence. 

The House of Commons wished to inquire still further 1TG6. 
of the temper of the Americans before taking the vote. 
They accordingly called witnesses to their bar, among 
whom was Benjamin Franklin. His knowledge was the 
most perfect, and his testimony had the greatest effect 
upon their minds. He said the colonists could not pay 
for the stamps for want of gold and silver ; that they had 
borne more than their share of expense in the last war, and 
that they were laboring under debts contracted by it ; 
that they would soon supply themselves with domestic 
manufactures ; that they had been well disposed toward 
the mother country, but recent laws were lessening their 
affection, and soon all commerce would be broken up, un- 
less those laws were repealed ; and finally, that they never 
would submit to taxes imposed by those who had no au- 
thority. The vote was taken, and the Stamp Act was Mar. 
repealed ; not because it was unjust, but because it could 
not be enforced. The people of the English commercial 
cities manifested their joy ; bonfires were lighted, the ships 
displayed their gayest colors, and the city of London itself 
was illuminated. Expresses were sent to the seaports, 
that the news might reach America as soon as possible. 

The rejoicings in the colonies were equally as great. 
In Boston, the bell nearest to the Liberty Tree was the 
first to ring ; soon gay flags and banners were flying from 
the shipping, from private dwellings, and from the steeples 
of the meeting-houses. Amidst the joy, the unfortunate 
were not forgotten, and those immured in the debtor's 
prison, were released by the contributions of their friends. 
The ministers, from their pulpits, offered thanksgiving in 
the name of the whole people, and the associations against 
importing merchandise from England were dissolved. 
New York, Virginia, and Maryland, each voted a statue 
to Pitt, who became more than ever a popular idol. 



294 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. In the midst of these troubles the cause of education 

and religion was not forgotten. The Kev. Eleazar Whee- 

IVGG. lock established at Lebanon, in Connecticut, a school to 
educate Indian boys, and train them as teachers for their 
own race. Success attended the effort. A grant of forty- 
four thousand acres of land induced him to remove the 
school to Hanover, New Hamjashire. Under the name of 
Dartmouth, a charter as a college was granted it, by 
Wentworth, the governor. The Earl of Dartmouth, a 
Methodist, a friend of John Wesley, aided it, was one of 
its trustees, and took charge of the funds contributed for 
it in England — hence the name. 

The establishment of this institution was one of the 
effects of the Great Revival. In the midst of the native 
forest of pines the work was commenced. The principal 
and his students dwelt in log-cabins, built by their own 
hands. 



irco. 



CHAPTEK XXVI. 

CAUSES WHICH LED TO THE REVOLUTION— CONTINUED. 

The English Ministry determine to obtain a Revenue. — llassachusetts invites 
to harmonious Action. — The Romney and the Sloop Liberty. — A Brit- 
ish Regiment at Boston. — Collision with the Citizens. — Articles of Asso- 
ciation proposed by Washington. — The Tax upon Tea. — Whigs and 
Tories. — The Gaspo captured. — The King's Maxim. — The Resolutions 
not to receive the Tea. — Tea thrown into Boston Harbor. — Its Recep- 
tion at other Places. — More oppressive Laws passed by Parliament. — 
Aid sent to Boston. — Gage's Difficulties. — Alexander Hamilton. — The 
Old Continental Congress. — The Organization ; the first Prayer. — The 
" Declaration of Rights." — The " American Association." — The Papers 
issued by the Congress. — The Views of Pitt in relation to them. 

Lord Grenville, the head of the ministry, was dismissed, ^y}' 

and the Marquis of Kockingham took his place. This 

ministry soon gave way, and another was appointed by 1V66. 
the king, at the head of which was placed Pitt, who, in 
the mean time, had been created Earl of Chatham. 

The following year, during Pitt's absence, Charles 
Townshend, his Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced 
that he intended, at all risks, to derive a revenue from ^J^^"* 
America, by imposing a duty upon certain articles, which 
the colonists received from abroad, such as wine, oil, 
paints, glass, paper, and lead colors, and especially upon 
tea, as they obtained it cheaper from Dutch smugglers 
than the English themselves. It was suggested to him 
to withdraw the army, and there would be no need of a 



296 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES, 

CHAP. tax. " I will hear nothing on the subject," said he ; " it 

'_ is absolutely necessary to keep an army there." 

1767. ^^^'^ colonists were startled by this news. They now 

remembered the fatal reservation in the repeal of the 
Stamp Act, that Parliament had the absolute right to tax 
them. " We will form a universal combination to eat 
nothing, to drink nothing, and wear nothing, imported 
from England," passed as a watchword from one colony 
to anothei-, and very soon the non-imjjortation associations 
were again in vigor. " Courage, Americans ; liberty, relig- 
ion, and science are on the wing to these shores. The 
finger of God points out a mighty empire to your sons," 
said one of the lawyers of New York. " Send over an 
army and fleet, and reduce the dogs to reason," wrote one 
of the royal governors to the ministry. 

Suddenly the Komney, a man-of-war, appeared in the 
harbor of Boston. The question soon arose. Why is a 
vessel of war sent to our harbor ? The people had resisted 
no law ; they had only respectfully petitioned for redress, 
and resolved to dispense with the use of British goods. 
Since the arrival of the Romney, the haughty manner of 
the Commissioners of Customs toward the people had be- 
come intolerable. The Eomuey frequently impressed the 
New England seamen as they came into the harbor. One 
man thus impressed was forcibly rescued by his compan- 
ions. These and similar outrages excited the bitterest 
animosity between the royal officials and the people. 

The Massachusetts Assembly issued a circular to the 
other Colonial Assemblies, inviting to harmonious action 
in obtaining redress. A few months afterward the minis- 
17G8. try sent peremptory orders to the Assembly to rescind 
June, their circular. Through the influence of Otis and Samuel 
Adams, the Assembly refused to comply with the arbitrary 
demand, but instead intimated that Parliament ought to 
repeal their offensive laws. Meantime the other Colonial 
Assemblies received the circular favorably, and also en- 



A BRITISH REGIMENT STATIONED IN BOSTON. 297 

couraged Massachusetts in her resistance to tyranny and chap. 
injustice. 1 

At this crisis, under the pretence that she liad made 1768. 
a false entry, the sloop Liberty, belonging to John Han- 
cock, one of the prominent leaders, was seized, and towed 
under the guns of the Komney. She was laden with Ma- 
deira wine, on which duties were demanded. The news 
soon spread, and a crowd collected, the more violent of 
whom attacked the houses of the Commissioners of Cus- 
toms, who were forced to fly for safety to Castle William 
in the harbor. Of these outbreaks of a few ignorant per- 
sons, the most exaggerated accounts were sent to Eng- 
land, and there it was resolved to send more soldiers, and 
make Massachusetts submit as a conquered countiy. Ven- 
geance was to be especially taken on " the insolent town 
of Boston." As the Parliament had determined to send 
troops to the colonies, Bernard, the governor, requested 
Colonel Gage to bring a regiment from Halifax to Boston. 
On a quiet Sabbath, these troops were landed under the ggpt. 
cover of the guns of their vessels, their colors flyings 
drums beating, and bayonets fixed, as if they had taken 
possession of an enemy's town. . Neither the leaders of 
the people, nor the people themselves, were intimidated 
by this military demonstration. According to law, troops 
could be lodged in Boston, only when the barracks at the 
forts in the harbor were full. The Assembly refused the 
soldiers quarters, and the food and other necessaries which 
had been demanded. The royalists gravely thought the 
Bostonians " had come within a hair's-breadth of commit- 
ting treason." Gage wrote, " It is of no use to argue in 
this country, where every man studies law." He would 
enforce obedience mthout delay. 

Boston was held as a conquered town ; sentinels were 
placed at the corners of the streets, and citizens, when 
passing to their ordinary business, were challenged ; even 
the sacred hours of the Sabbath were not free from the 



298 HISTOET OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, din of drums. A collision finally took place, between a 

citizen and a soldier. This led to an afi'ray between the 

1770. soldiers and some rope-makers. A few evenings afterward 
2'^'' a sentinel was assaulted ; soldiers were sent to his aid, 
and they were stoned by the mob. At length a soldier 
fired upon their assailants ; immediately six of his com- 
panions fired also. Three persons were killed and five 
wounded. The town was thrown into a state of great ex- 
citement ; in an hour's time the alarm bells had brought 
thousands into the streets. The multitude was pacified, 
only for the time, by the assurance of Hutchinson, who 
was now governor, that in the morning justice should be 
done. The next morning the people demanded that the 
troops should be removed from the town to Castle Wil- 
liam ; and that Captain Preston, who, it was said, had 
commanded his soldiers to fire, should be tried for murder. 
Both these requisitions were complied with. Captain 
Preston and six of his men were arraigned for trial. John 
Adams and Josiah Quincy, both j^opular leaders, volun- 
teered to defend them. They were acquitted by the jury 
of murder, but two of the soldiers were found guilty of 
manslaughter. 

The result of this trial had a good effect in England. 
Contrary to the slanders of their enemies, it showed that 
the Bostonians, in the midst of popular excitement, were 
actuated by principles of justice. Those citizens who had 
been thus killed were regarded in the colonies as martyrs 
of liberty. 

The Virginia Assembly passed resolutions as "bad as 
those of Massachusetts." The next day, the governor, 
Lord Boutetourte, dissolved the house for passing " the 
jrrgg abominable resolves." The members immediately held a 
May. meeting, at which Washington presented the resolutions, 
drawn up by himself and his friend George Mason. They 
were a draft of articles of association, not to import from 
Great Britain merchandise that was taxed. " Such was 



THE KING INSISTS ON TAXING TEA. 299 

their zeal against the slave-trade, they made a special ^^^• 

covenant with one another not to import any slaves, nor 

purchase any imported." To these resolutions were signed 1769. 
the names of Patrick Henry, Washington, Jeiferson, Rich- 
ard Henry Lee, and, indeed, of all the members of the 
Assembly. Then they were sent throughout the colony 
for the signature of every man in it. 

The non-importation associations produced their effect, ^^^^q^ 
and Lord North, who was now prime minister, proposed 
to remove all the duties except that on tea. That was 
retained at the express command of the king, whose maxim 
was, " that there should be always one tax, at least, to 
keep up the right of taxing." This removed part of the 
difficulty, for which the colonists were thankful ; but they 
were stiU united in their determination not to import tea. 
For these concessions they were indebted to the clamors 
of those English merchants whose trade had been injured. 
For a year there was an apparent lull in the storm of 
popular feeling. 

Governor Hutchinson issued a proclamation for a day 
of thanksgiving ; this he required the ministers to read 
from their pulpits on the following Sabbath. He thought 
to entrap them, by inserting a clause acknowledging grat- 
itude, " that civU and religious liberty were continued," 
and " trade encouraged." But he sadly mistook the men. 
The ministers, with the exception of one, whose church 
the governor himself attended, refused to read the proc- 
lamation, but, on the contrary, agreed to " implore of Al- 
mighty God the restoration of lost liberties." 

The contest had continued so long that party lines 
began to be drawn. Those who favored the demands of 
the people, were called Whigs ; those who sympathized 
with the government, were called Tories. These terms 
had been long in use in England, the fonner to designate 
the opposers of royalty ; the latter its supporters. 

Scarcely a colony was exempt from outrages commit- 



Jan. 



300 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

^^P- ted by those representing the royal authority. In New 

York tlie jiteople, on what is now the Park, then known as 

1770. the Fields, erected a liberty-pole. They were accustomed 
to assemble there and discuss the affairs of the colony. 
On a certain night, a party of the soldiers stationed in 
the fort cut down the pole. The people retaliated, and 
frequent quarrels and collisions occurred. Though these 
disturbances were not so violent as those in Massachusetts, 
they had the effect of exciting in the people intense hatred 
of the soldiers, as the tools of tyranny. 

An armed vessel, the Gaspe, engaged in the revenue 
service, took her position in Narraganset Bay, and in an 
insidting and arbitrary manner enforced the customs. 
Sometimes she wantoidy compelled the passing vessels 
and market boats to lower their colors as a token of re- 
spect ; sometimes landed companies on the neighboring 
islands, and carried off hogs and sheep, and other provi- 
sions. The Heutenant in command was appealed to for his 
authority in thus acting. He referred the committee to 
the admiral, stationed at Boston. The admiral haughtily 
answered : " The lieutenant is fulfilling his duty ; if any 
persons rescue a vessel from him, I will hang them as 
pirates." The bold sailors and citizens matured their 
1772. plans and executed them. The Providence packet, of a 
light draught and a fast sailer, was passing up the bay. 
The Gaspc hailed. The packet paid no attention, but 
passed on. Immediately the Graspe gave chase. The 
packet designedly ran into shoal water near the shore ; 
the Gaspe followed, and was soon aground, — the tide go- 
ing out, left her fast. The following night a company of 
men went down in boats, boarded her, made prisoners of 
the crew, and burned the vessel. A large reward was 
offered for the perpetrators of this bold act ; though well 
known, not one was betrayed. 

The warehouses of the East India Company were filled 
with the " pernicious weed," and the company proposed 



June 
10, 



A TAX IMPOSED ON TEA. 301 

to pay all its duties in England, and then export it at ™ap- 

their own risk. This would remove the difHculty, as there 

•would then be no collections of the duty in American 1T72. 
ports. But the king was unwilling to sacrijice his maxim, 
and Lord North seems to have been incapable of compre- 
hending, that the Americans refused to pay the duty on 
tea, not because it was great or small, but because they 
looked upon a tax thus imposed as unjust. He therefore 
virtually proposed to the company to pay three-fourths of 
the duty in England ; to save the king's maxim, the gov- 
ernment would coUect the other fourth, or three pence on 
a pound, in America. It was suggested to North, that 
the Americans would not purchase the tea on those con- 
ditions. He rephed : " It is to no purpose the making 
objections, for the king will have it so. The king means 
to try the question with the Americans." ^''"i'3- 

Meantime public opinion in the colonies was becoming 
more and more enlightened, and more and more decided. 
" We must have a convention of all the colonies," said 
Samuel Adams. And he sent forth circulars inviting 
them to assert their rights, when there was a prospect of 
success. He saw clearly that the king and Parliament 
were resolved to see whether the Americans would or 
would not acknowledge their supremacy. 

When the conditions became known on which tea was 
to be imported, the people took measures to prevent its 
being either landed or sold. In Philadelphia they held a 
meeting, and requested those to whom the tea was con- 
signed " to resign their appointments." They also de- 
nounced " as an enemy to his country," " whosoever shall 
aid or abet in unloading, receiving, or vending the tea." 
Similar meetings were held in Charleston and New York, 
and similar resolutions were passed. 

A ship, making a quick passage, arrived at Boston, 
with intelligence that several vessels laden with tea had 
sailed. Five thousand men immediately assembled to de- 



302 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

™^P- liberate on the course to be pursued. On motion of 

. Samuel Adams, they unanimously resolved to send the 

1773. tea back. " The only way to get rid of it," shouted 
" 3 ■ some one in the crowd, " is to throw it overboard." Those 
to whom the tea had been consigned were invited to meet 
at Liberty Tree, and resign their appointments. Two of 
the consignees were sons of Governor Hutchinson, who, at 
that time, was peculiarly odious on account of his double- 
dealing. This had been brought to light by a number of 
his letters to jjersons in England. These letters had 
fallen into the hands of Dr. Franklin, who sent them to 
the Speaker of the Massachusetts Assembly. They dis- 
closed the fact, that nearly all the harsh measures directed 
against the colony, had been suggested by Hutchinson. 

According to law, a ship must unload within twenty 
days, or be seized for non-payment of duties. 

Presently a shij) laden with tea came into the harbor. 
By order of the committee, it was moored at a certain 
wharf, and a comjiany of twenty-five men volunteered to 
guard it. The owner promised to take the cargo back, if 
the governor would give his permit. Meantime came two 
other vessels ; they were ordered to anchor beside the first. 
The committee waited again upon the consignees, but 
their answer was unsatisfactory. When the committee 
made their report to the meeting, not a word was said ; 
the assemblage silently broke up. The consignees were 
'^S'^- terribly alarmed. That silence was ominous. Hutchin- 
son's two sons fled to tlie fort, to the protection of the 
regulars. The father went quietly out of town. His ob- 
ject was to gain time tiU the twenty days should ex- 
pire ; then the ships would pass into the hands of the 
Commissioners of Customs, and the tea would be safe for 
his sons. 

Another meeting of the people was protracted till after 
dark ; on the morrow the twentieth day would expire, 
and the tea would be placed beyond their reach. At 



THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TEA. 303 

leno-th the owner of the vessel returned from his mission chap. 

. , XaVI. 

to the governor, and reported that he would not give the 



permit for the ships to leave the port. " This meeting," 1773. 
announced Samuel Adams, " can do nothing more to save 
the country." 

Immediately a shout, somewhat hke a war-whoop, 
arose from a hand of forty or fifty " very dark complex- 
ioned men, dressed like Mohawks," who were around the 
door. This band moved hastily down to the wharf where 
lay the tea ships. Placing a guard to protect them from r*«c. 
spies, they went on board and took out three hundred and 
forty-two chests, broke them open, and poured the tea 
into the water. In silence the crowd on shore witnessed 
the affair ; when the work was accomplished, they quietly 
retired to their homes. Paul Kevere set out immediately 
to carry the news to New York and Philadelphia.' 

At New York, a tea ship was sent back with her j^^^ 
cargo ; the captain was escorted out of the city by the 25. 
Committee of Vigilance, with banners flying and a band 
playing God save the king. Eighteen chests of tea, found 
concealed on board another vessel, were thrown into the 
dock. In Charleston tea was permitted to be landed, 
but was stowed in damp cellars, where it spoiled. The 
captain of the vessel bound for Philadelphia, when four 
miles below the city, learned that the citizens would not 
permit him to land his cargo ; he prudently returned to 
England. At Annapohs, a ship and its cargo were both 
burned ; the owner, to allay the excitement, himself ap- 
plying the torch. 

Meantime the various committees of correspondence 
were making preparations to hold a congress composed of 
representatives from aU the colonies. Yet they said, 
and no doubt honestly, that " their old good-will and 
affection for the parent country were not totally lost." 
"If she returned to her former moderation and good hu- 
mor, their affection would revive." 



304 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. When it became known in England that the auda- 

XXVI. 

cious colonists would not even permit the tea to be lauded, 

1774. the king and ministry determined to make their power 
felt ; and especially to make an examj^le of Boston. Ac- 
cordingly a bill was introduced and passed in Parliament, 
four to one, to close her port to all commerce, and to 
transfer the seat of government to Salem. Thougb her 
June, citizens offered remuneration for the tea destroyed, yet 
Massachusetts must be punished ; made an example, to 
deter other outbreaks. Parliament immediately passed a 
series of laws which violated her charter and took away 
her privileges. The Port Bill, it was complacently prophe- 
sied, will make Boston submit ; she will yet come as a 
penitent, and promise obedience to British laws. 

Parliament went still further, and passed other laws ; 
one for quartering soldiers, at the people's expense, on all 
the colonies, and another in connection with it, by which 
officers, who, in enforcing this particular law, should com- 
mit acts of violence, were to be taken to England, and 
tried there for the offence. This clause would encourage 
ai'bitrary acts, and render military and official insolence 
still more intolerable. To these was added another law, 
known as the Quebec act ; it granted unusual concessions 
to the Catholics of Canada — a stroke of policy, if war 
should occur between the colonies and the mother countiy. 
This act revived much of the old Protestant feeling latent 
in the minds of the people. These laws, opposed by many 
in Parliament as unnecessary and tyrannical, excited in 
America a deep feeling of indignation against the English 
government. 

Everywhere Boston met with sympathy. The town of 
Salem refused to accept the proffered boon of becoming 
the seat of government at the expense of her neighbor, 
and Marblehead offered her port, free of charge, to the 
merchants of Boston. In that city great distress was ex- 
perienced ; multitudes, who depended upon the daily 



BOSTON MEETS WITH SYMPATHY. 30§ 

labor they obtained from commerce, were out of employ- chap. 

ment, and their families suffered. The different colonies '_ 

sent to their aid provisions and money ; these were accom- 1774. 
panied by words of encouragement, to stand firm in the 
righteous cause. The ordinary necessaries of life came 
from their neighbors of New England. " The patriotic 
and generous people " of South Carolina sent them two 
hundred barrels of rice, and jjromised eight hundred more, 
but urged them " not to pay for an ounce of the tea." 
In North Carolina "two thousand pounds were raised by 
subscription " and sent. Virginia and Maryland vied 
with each other in the good work. Washington presided 
at a meeting of sympathizers, and subscribed himself fifty 
pounds ; and even the farmers on the western frontiers of 
the Old Dominion sent one hundred and thirty-seven bar- 
rels of flour. 

These patriots were determined " that the men of 
Boston, who were deprived of their daily labor, should not 
lose their daily bread, nor be compelled to change their 
residence for want." ' 

Even the citizens of Quebec, French and English, by 
joint effort sent them more than a thousand bushels of 
wheat, while in London itself one hundred and fifty thou- 
sand dollars were subscribed for their benefit. Notwith- 
standing all this distress no riot or outbreak occurred 
among the people. 

General Gage was now Commander-in-chief of the 
British army in America, and had been recently appointed 
governor, in place of Hutchinson. He was sadly at a loss 
how to manage the Bostonians. If they would only vio- 
late the law, he could exercise his civil as well as his mili- 
tary authority. They held meetings, from time to time, 
and freely discussed their pubhc affairs. They were under 

' Bancroft, vol. vii, p. 7.1. 
20 



306 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

xYv'r' ^^^® control of leaders who never lost their self-possession, 

nor transcended their constitutional rights. The govern- 

1774. ment, thinking to avoid the evil, forbade them to hold such 
meetings, after a certain day. They evaded the law " by 
convoking the meetings before that day, and heejiinf] lliem 
alive." " Faneuil Hall was at times unable to hold them, 
and they swarmed from that revolutionary hive into Old 
South Church. The Liberty Tree became a rallying 
place for any popular movement, and a flag hoisted on it 
was saluted by all processions as the emblem of the popu- 
lar cause." ' 

During this time, the people throughout the colonies 
held conventions and chose delegates to the General Con- 
gress about to meet at Philadelphia. One of these meet- 
ings, held in the " Fields " in New York, was addressed 
by a youth of seventeen. The stripling charmed his hear- 
ers by his fervor, as he grappled with the question and 
presented with clearness the main points at issue. When 
he closed, a whisper ran through the crowd, " It is a col- 
legian." The youth was Alexander Hamilton, a native 
of St. Kitts, of Scotch and French descent, his mother a 
Huguenot. The son combined the caution of the Scot 
with the vivacity of the Gaul. At an early age he lost 
his mother, whose memory he cherished with the greatest 
devotion. "A father's care he seems never to have 
known." At the age of twelve he was thrown upon the 
world to depend upon his own resources. He came to 
Boston, and thence to New York, where he found means 
to enter King's, since Columbia College. He had been 
known to the people simply as the West Indian, who 
walked under the trees in the college green, and uncon- 
scious of the observation of others, talked to himself 
Henceforth a brilliant mind and untiring energies were to 
be consecrated to the welfare of the land that had adopted 
the orphan. 

' Washington Irving. 



THE OLD CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 3iE^ 

When the time came for the meeting of the G-eneral ^^P- 

Congress, known as the Old Continental Congress, fifty- '_ 

five delegates assembled in the Carpenters' Hall, in the 1V74. 
city of Philadelphia. Every colony was represented, ex- g^ " 
cept Georgia. Martin, the royalist governor, had prevented 
delegates from being chosen. 

Here for the first time assembled the most eminent 
men of the colonies. They held in their hands, under the 
G-reat Disposer of all things, the destinies of a people num- 
bering nearly three millions. Here were names now sacred 
in the memories of Americans. George Washington, 
Patrick Henry, Kichard Henry Lee, Edward and John 
Eutledge, Gadsden, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Roger 
Sherman, Philip Livingston, John Jay, William Living- 
ston, Dr. Witherspoon, President of Princeton College, a 
Scotch Presbyterian minister, who had come over some 
years before, but was said to be " as high a son of liberty 
as any man in America," and others of lesser note, but 
no less patriotism. They had corresponded with each 
other, and exchanged views on the subject of their coun- 
try's wrongs ; they had sympathized as brethren, though 
many of them were to each other personally unknown. It 
was a momentous crisis, and they felt the responsibility 
of their position. 

The House was organized by electing the aged Peyton 
Eandolph, of Virginia, Speaker, and Charles Thomson, of 
Pennsylvania, Secretary. A native of Ireland, when a 
youth he came to America. He was principal of the 
Quaker High School in Philadelphia, and was proverbial 
for his truth and honesty. 

It was suggested that it would be becoming to open 
their sessions with prayer. This proposition was thought 
by some to be inexpedient, since perhaps the delegates 
could not all join in the same form of worship. At length 
Samuel Adams, who was a strict CongregationaHst, arose 
and said : " I wUl willingly join in prayer with any gen- 



308 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CUM', tleman of piety and virtue, whatever may he his cloth, 

provided he is a friend of his country." On his motion, 

1774. the Rev. Mr. Duche, a popular Episcopal clergyman, of 
Philadelphia, was invited to officiate as chaplain. Mr. 
Duch6 accepted the invitation. A rumor, in the mean 
time, reached Philadelphia that General Gage had bom- 
barded Boston. When the Congress assembled the next 
morning, anxiety and sympathy were depicted on every 
countenance. The rumor, though it proved to be false, 
excited feelings of brotherhood, hitherto unknown. 

The chaplain read the thirty-fifth psalm, and then, 
carried away by his emotions, burst forth into an extem- 
porary prayer to the Lord of Hosts to be their heliDcr. 
" It seemed," says John Adams, in a letter to his wife, 
" as if Heaven had ordained that psalm to be read on that 
morning. He j)i"ayed, in language eloquent and sublime, 
for America, for the Congress, for the province of Massa- 
chusetts Bay, and especially for the town of Boston. It 
has had an excellent effect uj^on everybody here." 

When, the prayer was closed, a long and death-like 
silence ensued, as if each one hesitated " to open a busi- 
ness so momentous." At length Patrick Henry slowly 
arose, faltering at first, " as if borne down by the weight 
of his subject ; " but the fires of his wonted eloquence be- 
gan to glow, as he recited the colonial wrongs already 
endured, and foretold those yet to come. " Eising, as he 
advanced, with the grandeur of his subject, and glowing 
at length with all the majesty and expectation of the 
occasion, his speech seemed more than that of mortal 
man." He inspired the entire Congress with his liberal 
sentiments ; they found a response in every heart when 
he exclaimed : " British oppression has efi"aced the boun- 
daries of the several colonies ; the distinctions between 
Virginians, Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers, and New Eng- 
landers,*are no more. I am not a Virginian, but an 
American." When he closed, the members were not 



THE PAPERS ISSUED BY CONGRESS. 



3@$ 



merely astonished at his matchless eloquence, but the ^^f- 
importance of the subject had overwhelmed them. 



1774. 



The Congress appointed a committee, which drew up 
a "Declaration of Rights." In this they enumerated 
their natural rights to the enjoyment of life, liberty, and 
property ; as British subjects, they claimed to participate 
in making their own laws ; in imposing their own taxes ; 
the right of trial by jury in the vicinage ; of holding pub- 
lic meetings, and of petitioning for redress of grievances. 
They protested against a standing army in the colonies 
without their consent, and against eleven acts passed since 
the accession of George III., as violating the rights of the 
colonies. It was added, " To these grievous acts and 
measures Americans cannot submit." 

To obtain redress they resolved to enter upon peacea- 
ble measures. They agreed to form an "American Asso- 
ciation," in whose articles they pledged themselves not to 
trade with Great Britain or the West Indies, nor with 
those engaged in the slave-trade — wliich was especially 
denounced — not to use British goods or tea, and not to 
trade with any colony which would refuse to join the asso- 
ciation. Committees were to be appointed in the various 
districts to see that these articles were strictly carried into 
effect. 

Elaborate papers were also issued, in which the views 
of the Congress were set forth still more fully. A petition 
to the king was written by John Dickinson, of Pennsylva- 
nia ; he also wrote an Address to the people of Canada. 
The Memorial to the people of the colonies was written 
by Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, and the Address to 
the people of Great Britain by John Jay, of New York. 

Every measure was carefully discussed, and though on 
some points there was much diversity of opinion, yet, as 
Congress sat with closed doors, only the results of these 
discussions went forth to the country, embodied in resolu- 



310 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

^HAP. tions, and siguecl by the members. These papers attracted 

the attention of thinking men in England. Said Chat- 

1774. ham, " When your lordsliij)S look at the papers trans- 
mitted to us from America ; when you consider their 
decency, firmness, and wisdom, you cannot but respect 
their cause, and wish to make it your own. For myself, 
I must avow, and I have studied the master states of the 
world, I know not the peoi^le, or senate, who, for solidity 
of reason, force of sagacity, and wisdom of conclusion, 
under such a complication of difficult circumstances, can 
stand in preference to the delegates of America assembled 
in General Congress at Philadelphia. The histories of 
Greece and Kome give us nothing equal to it, and all 
attempts to impose servitude upon such a mighty conti- 
nental nation, must be vain." 



CHAPTEK XXVII. 

COMMENCEMENT OF THE REVOLUTION. 

The Spirit of tlie People. — Gage alarmed. — The People seize Guns and Am- 
munition. — The Massachusetts Provincial Congress ; its Measures. — 
Parliament passes the Restraining Bill. — Conflicts at Lexington and 
Concord. — Volunteers flv to Arms, and beleaguer Boston. — Stark. — 
Putnam. — Benedict Arnold. — Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain 
Boys. — Capture of Ticonderoga. — Lord Dunmore in Virginia. — Patrick 
Henry and the Independent Companies. — The News from Lexington 
rouses a Spirit of Resistance. — The second Continental Congress ; it 
takes decisive Measures ; adopts the Army before Boston, and ap- 
points Washington Commander-in-chief. 

Whilk Congress was yet in session, affairs began to wear SSyf; 

a serious aspect in and around Boston. The people were 

practising military exercises. Every village and district IVTI. 
had its company of minute-men — men pledged to each 
other to be ready for action at a minute's warning. Eng- 
land soon furnished them an occasion. The ministiy pro- 
hibited the exportation of military stores to America, and 
sent secret orders to the royal governors, to seize all the 
arms and gunpowder in the magazines. Gage complied 
with these orders. When it became known that he had 
secretly sent a company of soldiers by night, who had 
seized the powder in the arsenal at Charlestown, and con- 
veyed it to Castle William, the minute-men assembled at 
once. Their eagerness to go to the governor and compel 
him to restore it to the arsenal could scarcely be restrained. 
Ere long various rumors were rife in the country — that 
Boston was to be attacked ; that the fleet was bombarding 



312 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, it J that the soldiers were shooting down the citizens in its 

streets. Thousands of the sturdy yeomanry of Massa- 

1774. chusetts and Connecticut credited these rumors ; they 
left their farms and theh- shops, and hastened to the res- 
cue. Before they had advanced far they learned that the 
rejjorts were untrue. General Gage was alarmed by this 
significant movement ; he did not apprehend its full im- 
port, neither did he rightly discern the signs of the times, 
nor read the sjiirit of the people ; he was a soldier, and 
understood the power that lies in soldiers and fortifications, 
hut knew nothing of the power of free principles. He 
determined to fortify the nect which connects Boston with 
the mainland, and place there a regiment, to cut off all 
communication between the people in the country and 
those in the town. 
1774. Intelligence of these proceedings spread rapidly through 
^^"- the land. The people took possession of the arsenal at 
Charlestown, from which the powder had been removed. 
At Portsmouth, in New Hampshire, a company, led by 
John Sullivan, afterward a major-general, captured the 
fort, and carried off one hundred barrels of powder and 
some cannon. At Newport, in the absence of the men-of- 
war, forty-four pieces of artillery were seized and conveyed 
to Providence. In Connecticut, the Assembly enjoined 
upon the towns to lay in a double supply of ammunition, 
to mount their cannon, and to train the militia frequently. 
This spirit .was not confined to New England, but pre- 
vailed in the middle and southern colonies, where the peo- 
ple took energetic measures to put themselves in a posture 
of defence. 

In the midst of this commotion. Gage, thinking to 
conciHate, summoned the Massachusetts Assembly to 
Oct. meet at Salem ; but, alarmed at the spirit manifested at 
^' the town meetings in the jji-ovince, he countermanded the 
order. The Assembly, however, met ; and as no one ap- 
peared to administer the oaths, and open the session, the 



MASSACHUSETTS ADOPTS DECIDED MEASURES. 313 

members adiourned to Concord, and there oraranized as a Sl^p 
•' . XXVIL 
Provincial Congress. They elected John Hancock Presi- 

dent, and Benjamin Lincoln Secretary. Lincoln was a 1TT4. 

farmer, and afterward became an efficient major-general 

in the revolutionary army. This was the first provincial 

Assembly organized independently of royal authority. 

They sent an address to Gage, in which they com- 
plained of the recent acts of Parliament ; of his own high- 
handed measures ; of his fortifying Boston Neck, and 
requested him to desist ; at the same time they protested 
their loyalty to the king, and their desire for peace and 
order. Gage replied that he was acting in self-defence, 
and admonished them to desist from their own unlawful 
proceedings. 

The Assembly disregarded the admonition, went quiet- 
ly to work, appointed two committees, one of safety, and 
the other of supplies, — the former was empowered to 
call out the minute-men, when it was necessary, and the 
latter to supply them with provisions of all kinds. They 
then appointed two general officers — Artemas Ward, one 
of the judges of the court, and Seth Pomeroy, a veteran 
of threescore and ten, who had seen service in the French 
war. They resolved to enlist twelve thousand minute- 
men, and invited the other New England colonies to in- 
crease the number to twenty thousand. The note of alarm 
was everywhere heard ; preparations for defence were 
eveiywhere apparent. In Virginia the militia companies 
burnished their arms and practised their exercises. Wash- 
ington, their highest military authority, was invited, and 
often visited different parts of the country, to inspect these 
volunteers on their review days. 

The attention of all was now turned to the new Par- 1775. 
liament about to assemble. To some extent, a change '^^"• 
had come over the minds of many of the English people ; 
the religious sympathies of the Dissenters were specially 
enlisted in favor of the colonists. The papers issued by 



314 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, the Continental Congress had been published and circu- 

lated extensively in England, by the exertions of Franklin 

1775. and others. Their plain, unvarnished statements of facts, 
and their claim for the colonists to enjoy British as well 
as natural rights, had elicited sympathy. 

Chatham, though much enfeebled, hiu-ried up to Lon- 
don to plead once more for American rights. He brought 
in a bill, which he hoped would remove the difficulties ; 
but the House spurned every scheme of reconciliation 
short of absolute submission on the part of the colonists. 
Lord North, urged on by his colleagues in the ministry, 
whom he had not strength of will to resist, went further 
than ever. The Boston Port Bill had not accomijlished 
its design ; and now he introduced what was termed the 
New England Restraining Bill, which deprived the people 
of those colonies of the privilege of fishing on the banks 
of Newfoundland. He declared Massachusetts was in 
rebellion, and the other colonies, by their associations, 
were aiding and abetting her. Parliament pledged itself 
to aid the king in maintaining his authority. 
Mar. The next month came intelligence to England, that 

the Colonial Assemblies had not only approved the reso- 
lutions of the Continental Congress, but had determined 
to support them. To punish them for this audacity, Par- 
liament passed a second Restraining Act, to apply to all 
the colonies except New York, Delaware, and North Car- 
olina. The object of this mark of favor signally failed ; 
these colonies could not be bribed to desert their sisters. 

General Gage had learned, by means of spies, that at 
Concord, eighteen miles from Boston, the patriots had 
collected ammunition and military stores. These he de- 
termined to destroy. His preparations were made with 
the greatest secrecy ; but the Sons of Liberty were vigi- 
lant. Dr. Warren, one of the committee of safety, noticed 
the unusual stir ; the collection of boats at certain points ; 



LEXINGTON. 315 

that the light infantry and grenadiers were taken oS duty. S^^Jl- 

He sent information of what he had seen and suspected 

to John Hancock and Samuel Adams, who were at Lex- 1775. 
ington. It was rightly surmised that Concord was the 
ohject of the intended expedition. It was to leave Boston 
on the night of the eighteenth of April ; on that day ^g 
Gage issued orders forhidding any one to leave the town 
after dark. Again the vigilance of Warren had antici- 
pated him. Before his order could go into effect, Paid 
Revere and William Dawes, two swift and trusty messen- 
gers, were on the way to the country, by different routes. 
A lantern held out from the steeple of the North Church — 
the concerted signal to the jjatriots in Charlestown — 
warned them that something unusual was going on. Mes- 
sengers from that place hurried to rouse the country. 

About ten o'clock, under cover of the darkness, eight 
or nine hundred men, light infantry and grenadiers, em- 
barked and crossed to Cambridge, and thence, with as 
little noise as possible, took up their line of march. To 
their surprise they heard in advance of them the tolling 
of bells, and the firing of alarm guns ; evidently they 
were discovered. Lieutenant-colonel Smith sent back to 
Gage for reinforcements, and also ordered Major Pitcairn 
to press forward, and seize the two bridges at Concord. 
Pitcairn advanced rapidly and arrested every person he 
met or overtook, but a countryman, who evaded him, 
spurred on to Lexington, and gave the alarm. At dawn 
of day Pitcairn's division reached that place. Seventy 
or eighty minute-men, with some other persons, were on 
the green. They were uncertain as to the object of the 
British. It was thought they wished to arrest Hancock ^J 
and Adams, both of whom had left the place. Pitcairn 
ordered his men to halt and load their muskets ; then 
riding up he cried out, — " Disperse, you rebels." " Down 
with your arms, you villains, and disperse," was echoed 
by his officers. Confusion ensued ; random shots were 



316 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP fij-ecl on both sides ; then, by a volley from the British, 

seven men were killed and nine wounded. The Ameri- 

1775. cans dispersed, and the British soldiers gave three cheers 
for their victory ! By whom the first shot was fired is 
uncertain. Each party charged it upon the other. Be 
that as it may, here was commenced the eight years' war 
of the revolution. 

Presently Colonel Smith came up, and in half an hour 
the entire body moved on toward Concord, six mUes dis- 
tant. Information of the firing at Lexington had already 
reached that place. The minute-men were assembled on 
the green near the church. About seven o'clock the ene- 
my appeared, in two divisions. The minute-men retreated 
across a bridge to the top of a neighboring hUl. The 
British placed a strong guard at the bridge, and spent 
two hours in destroying what stores they could find, as the 
greater part had been concealed, and pUlaging some private 
dwellings. Meantime the little company on the hill in- 
creased rapidly, and soon it numbered about four hundred 
and fifty. They advanced upon the guard, who fired upon 
them, and skirmishing commenced. As the British began 
to retreat they were followed by an irregular and galling 
fire from behind trees, and fences, and houses. In vain 
they sent flanking-parties to free themselves from their 
assailants, who were increasing every minute ; the nimble 
yeomanry would retire before these parties, only to appear 
at a more favorable point. Colonel Smith was severely 
wounded, and many of his men killed. He had consumed 
more than two hours in retreating to Lexington ; there, 
fortunately for him. Lord Percy, who insultingly had 
marched out of Boston to the tune of Yankee Doodle, 
met him with a thousand men and two field-pieces. The 
fainting and exhausted troops were received in a hollow 
square, where they rested, while the fresh soldiers kept the 
indomitable " rebels " at bay with their field-pieces. 

WhUe the enemy were thus halting, General Heath, 



THE HASTY RETREAT VOLUNTEERS FLY TO ARMS. 317 

wliom the Massachusetts Provmcial Congress had ap- J^hap. 

pointed to command the minute-men, came upon the 

ground, and also Dr. Warren. They directed the Ameri- 1775. 
cans, whose attacks were now more in concert, but still 
irregular. The British set fire to dwellings in Lexington, 
then renewed their retreat, pDlaging and burning as they 
went. The Americans, greatly exasperated, harassed them 
at every step. Lord Percy's condition became very criti- 
cal. The country was roused ; new assailants poured in 
from every side ; every moment he was more and more 
encumbered by the number of the wounded, while his am- 
munition was nearly exhausted. Had he been delayed an 
hour longer, his retreat would have been cut off by a pow- 
erful force from Marblehead and Salem. " If the retreat," 
writes Washington, " had not been as precipitate as it 
was — and God knows it could not well have been more 
so — ^the ministerial troops must have surrendered, or been 
totally cut off." In this affair, about eighty of the Ameri- 
cans were killed or wounded, and of the British nearly 
three hundred. 

Intelligence of this conflict spread rapidly through the 
country ; couriers hastened from colony to colony. In 
New England, volunteers flew to arms, and in ten days 
an irregular army completely blockaded the British in 
Boston, by a line of encampments, that extended from 
Koxbury to beyond Charlestown — a distance of nine miles. 
The fire of other days glowed in the breasts of the old 
campaigners of the French war, — none were more ready 
than they. John Stark, whom we have seen leading his 
men in that war, waited not for invitation nor commission ; 
in ten minutes after he heard the news he was on his way. 
Israel Putnam, another name associated with deeds of 
daring in French and Indian warfare, was laboring in his 
field when the courier passed along. He left the work, 
mounted a horse, roused his neighbors, and, without 
changing his clothes, hastened to Boston. Putnam was 



318 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

xxvn ^ iiative of Salem, Massachusetts, but for many years a 

. resident of Connecticut. Though now almost sixty years 

1775. of age, he was buoyant in spirits as a boy, impulsive and 
frank as he was fearless, and too generous to suspect 
others of guile. 

At this crisis, the Massachusetts Congress took ener- 
getic measures. A regiment of artillery was formed, the 
command of which was given to the aged Gridley, who, 
thirty years before, commanded the artillery at the taking 
of Louisburg. In the other colonies, the people were not 
inactive ; they seized arms and ammunition wherever 
found, repudiated the royal authority, and each for itself 
called a Provincial Congress. 

It was suggested to the Massachusetts Committee of 
Safety to seize the two posts, Ticonderoga and Crown 
Point, on Lake Champlain, and thus secure the " key of 
Canada," as well as the cannon and other military stores 
there deposited. Benedict Arnold, who commanded a 
company in the camp before Boston, entered into the proj- 
ect with great ardor, Arnold was a man of impulsive 
temper, petulant, headstrong, and reckless of danger ; he 
thirsted for an opportunity to distinguish himself The 
Committee gave him the commission of colonel, with au- 
thority to raise men and accomplish the object. He 
learned that others were engaged in the same enterprise, 
and without waiting to enlist men, he set out immediately 
for Vermont. There he met the redoubtable Ethan Al- 
len — an original character — who from his very singulari- 
ties exerted a great influence over his companions. When 
he harangued them, as he often did, " his style, though a 
singular compound of local barbarisms, and scriptural 
phrases, and oriental wildness, was highly animated and 
forcible." The territory now known as the State of Ver- 
mont, was claimed at this time by both New York and 
New Hampshire ; but the inhabitants preferred to live 



CAPTUKE OF TICONDEROGA. 319 

under the rule of the latter, and formed comhinations to ^^^j^- 

resist the authority of New York. Allen was the leader 

of " the G-reen Mountain Boys," an association formed 1775. 
for this 2:)nrpose. 

These Green Mountain Boys, numbering about two 
hundred and seventy, with ^llen at their head, were al- 
ready on their way to Ticonderoga. Within a few miles 
of the head of Lake Champlain, Arnold overtook them. 
By virtue of his commission as colonel, he ordered Allen 
to surrender the command into his hands. Allen refused, 
nor would his men march under any other leader. It was 
finally arranged that Arnold should go as a volunteer, re- 
taining the rank of colonel without the command. The 
following night the party reached Shoreham, a point on 
the lake opposite Ticonderoga. At dawn of day, as they May 
had but few boats, only eighty-three men with Arnold 
and Allen had crossed over. 

They could delay no longer, lest they should be dis- 
covered, and Allen jjroposed to move on at once to the 
fort. Guided by a boy of the neighborhood, a brisk run 
up the hill soon brought them to the entrance. They 
secured the two sentinels, one of whom they compelled to 
show the way to the quarters of Captain Delaplace, the 
commandant. The vigorous knocks of Allen at his door 
soon roused him. When he appeared, half-awake and 
half-dressed, Allen flourished his sword, and called upon 
him to surrender the fort. The commandant stammered 
out, " By whose authority do you act ? " " In the name 
of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress," 
thundered Allen. This was a demonstration not to be 
resisted. The cheers of Allen's men had already roused 
the garrison, all of whom were taken prisoners. 

Two days later Seth Warner, Allen's lieutenant, with 
a detachment, took Crown Point. Arnold then obtained 
boats, pushed on, and cajitured St. John's in the Sorel. 
Altogether, sixty prisoners were taken, and what was far 



320 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, more imiiortaut, two hundred cannons and a large supply 



of gunpowder. 



1775. 



Two days after tlie affaii- at Lexington, Lord Dunmore, 
governor of Virginia, sent a company of marines, wlio, in 
April the night, entered the capital, Williamsburg, and carried 
^^- off from the pubhc arsenal about twenty barrels of powder, 
and conveyed them on board an armed schooner lying in 
James river. When the inhabitants learned the fact the 
next morning, they were greatly exasperated. Numbers 
flew to arms with the intention of recovering the powder. 
By the persuasions of the leading citizens, and of the 
councU, they were restrained from acts of violence. 

The Council, however, addressed a remonstrance to 
the governor, who promised, verbally, to restore the j^ow- 
der when it should be needed. The people deemed his 
answer unsatisfactory. When intelligence came of the 
conflict at Concord, it flashed upon their mmds tliat the 
seizure of the powder and munitions of war in the colonics 
was concerted by the royal governors, in accordance with 
instructions from the ministry. 
2 ^ Patrick Henry invited the independent companies of 

the county of Hanover to meet him at a certain place on 
the second of May. They, seven hundred strong, obeyed 
the call. He made known why they were called together ; 
spoke of the fight at Concord, and the occasion of it. 
Then, at their head, he marched towards Williamsburg, 
determined either to have the powder returned, or its 
value in money. On their way a messenger from the 
frightened governor met them, and tendered the money 
for the full value of the powder. The money was after- 
ward sent to Congress. 

The companies now disbanded, with the understanding 
that when called upon, they were to be ready to march at 
a minute's warning. Thus did Virginia emulate Massa- 
chusetts. 



THE PEOPLE RISE IN OPPOSITION. 321 

Dunmore, in the mean while, fled with his family on chap. 

' .' . ■' XXVII. 

board a man-of-war, and thence issued one of his harmless 

proclamations, in which he declared " a certain Patrick 1775. 
Henry and his associates to he in rebellion.'' 

A few days before he had said, " The whole country 
can easily be made a solitude ; " and he threatened to 
declare freedom to the slaves, arm them, and lay Wil- 
Kamsburg in ashes ! 

As the news from Lexington and Concord reached the 
various portions of the colonies the people rose in opposi- 
tion. The whigs were indignant at the outrage, and the 
royalists censured Gage for his rash and harsh measures. 

In New York, the Sons of Liberty, with Eobert Sears, 
the sturdy mechanic, at their head, seized eighty thousand 
pounds of flour, which was on board of sloops ready to be 
taken to Boston for the king's troops ; they shut up the 
custom-house, and forbade vessels to leave the harbor for 
any colony or 2)ort which acknowledged British authority ; 
they secured the arms and ammunition belonging to the 
city, while the volunteers turned out and paraded the 
streets. The General Committee was dilatory ; another 
was chosen to act with more energy. An association was 
formed whose members pledged themselves, "under all 
ties of religion, honor, and love of country, to submit to 
committees and to Congress, to withhold supplies from 
the British troops, and, at the risk of lives and fortunes, 
to repel every attempt at enforcing taxation by Parlia- 
ment." 

Similar was the spirit manifested in the Jerseys. In 
Philadelphia, thousands of the citizens assembled and 
resolved, " To associate for the purpose of defending with 
arms, their lives, their property, and liberty." Thomas 
Mifflin, the warlike young Quaker, urged them in his 
speech, " not to be bold in declarations and cold in action." 
Military companies were formed in the neighboring coun- 
21 



322 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

xxvFi *'^^' ^^ ^^^^ ^^ ™ *^^ *^'*'^' ^^° armed themselves and 
daily jjractised their exercises. 

1775. In Maiyland, Eden, the royalist governor, in order to 

conciliate, gave up to the people the arms and ammunition 

of the jiroviuce. 

In Charleston, the peoijle at once distributed the 
twelve hundred stand of arms which they seized in the 
royal arsenal, while the Provincial Congress, with Henry 
Laurens, a Huguenot by descent, as their president, de- 
clared themselves *' ready to sacrifice their hves and for- 
tunes to secure freedom and safety." The officers of the 
militia threw uj5 their commissions from the governor, and 
declared themselves ready to submit to the authority of 
Congress. Kegiments of infantry and rangers were imme- 
diately raised. 

Georgia, which had hitherto been lukewarm, now took 
decided ground. The people broke into the royal maga- 
zine, from which they took all the powder, live hundred 
pounds. The committee wrote words of encouragement 
and commendation to the people of Massachusetts, and 
sent them rice and specie. 

In North Carolina, as the news passed from place to 
place, it awakened the spirit of resistance to tyranny. 
The highlands along her western frontier were settled by 
Presbyterians of Scotch-Irish descent, " who were said to 
possess the impulsiveness of the Irishman with the dogged 
resolution of the Covenanter." A county convention was 
in session when the courier arrived. Fired with indigna- 
tion, the delegates resolved to throw off " the authority 
of the king and Parliament." Ephraim Brevard, " trained 
in the college at Princeton," and afterward a martyr in 
the cause, embodied their sentiments in resolutions, which 
declared ; " All laws and commissions, confirmed by or 
derived from the authority of the king and Parliament to 
be annulled and vacated." To maintain their rights, they 
also determined to form nine mihtary companies, and to 



May. 



I 



THE SECOND CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 323 

frame laws for the internal government of the country, yxvff 

This was the famous Mecklenburg Declaration of Inde- 

pendence. 1775. 

Such was the spirit that pervaded the minds of the 
entire people. Throughout the land free principles had 
laid the train-i— the spark was applied at Lexington. 

On the tenth of May the second Continental Congress May 
commenced its session at Philadelphia. They organized 
without changing the officers of the year before. In a 
few days, however, Peyton Randolph resigned the presi- 
dency to return to Virginia and preside over the Assembly, 
which had been called by the governor. 

Thomas Jefferson was sent to supply his place as a 
delegate, and John Hancock was elected president. Har- 
rison, of Virginia, in conducting him to the chair, said : 
" We wiU show Britain how much we value her pro- 
scriptions." For it was well known that Hancock and 
Samuel Adams were deemed rebels too great to be par- 
doned. 

Dr. Franklin had returned only a few days before from 
England, where he had been for some years in the capacity 
of agent for some of the colonies. There his enlightened 
statesmanship and far-seeing judgment had won the re- 
spect of liberal-minded Englishmen. He was at once 
chosen a delegate. Also, in addition to the members of 
the first Congress, appeared George Clinton and Robert R. 
Livingston, from New York. 

The members were encouraged, for the measures of the 
first Congress had been approved by the assemblies of all 
the colonies. 

The first General Congress met to protest and peti- 
tion ; the second to assume authority and take decisive 
measures. Then the door was open for reconciHation with 
the mother country, now it was almost closed. The face 
of affairs was changed ; blood had been wantonly shed, 



S24 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, and a beleaguering host of rustic soldiery were besieging 
the enemy. 



1775. Congress was imbued with the spirit of the time. In 

committee of the whole reports were called for on the 
state of the country. These disposed of, they passed to 
other matters ; reviewed the events of the last year ; inves- 
tigated the causes which led to the conflicts at Lexington 
and Concord. The timid proposed to memorialize Parlia- 
ment once more. No ! argued John Adams, and many 
others ; it is useless, we have been spurned from the 
throne, and our petitions treated with contempt ; such a 
memorial would embarrass our proceedings, and have no 
influence upon Parliament. Yet another petition was, in 
form, voted to the king, and wliile they denied any inten- 
tion to cast oif their allegiance, they proceeded to put the 
colonies in a posture of defence. 

They formed a " Federal Union," by whose provisions 
each colony was to manage its own internal concerns ; but 
all measures pertaining to the whole community, such as 
treaties of peace or alliance, the regulation of commerce, 
or declaration of war, came under the jurisdiction of Con- 
gress. They recognized Him who holds in his hands the 
destinies of nations. They issued a proclamation for a 
day of solemn fasting and prayer. 

Congress now assumed the authority of the central 
power of the nation. They forbade persons, under any 
circumstances, to furnish provisions to the British navy or 
troops ; took measures to enlist an army and to build 
fortifications, and to procure arms and ammunition. To 
defray expenses, they issued " Bills of Credit," amount- 
ing to two millions of dollars, for whose redemption they 
pledged the faith of the " United Colonies." In accord- 
ance with the request of the Provincial Congress of Massa- 
chusetts, they adopted the volunteers in the camp before 
Boston, as the continental army. It remained to appoint 
a Commander-in-chief On this subject there were diver- 



WASHINGTON CHOSEN COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. 325 

sities of opinion. Some tlionglit a New England army ^;HAP- 

would prefer a New England commander ; others strove . 

to appoint a commander acceptable to aU sections of the 1775. 
country. The members of Congress acknowledged the 
military talents of Washington, and appreciated his Ub- 
eral views as a statesman. As chairman of the committee 
on military affairs, he had suggested the majority of the 
rules for the army, and of the measures for defence. At 
this time came intimations in a private letter from Dr. 
Warren to Samuel Adams, that many leading men in 
Massachusetts desired his appointment as commander-in- 
chief 

Patrick Henry, when asked, on his return home from 
the first Congress, who of the members was the greatest 
man, had replied, " If you speak of eloquence, Mr. Rut- 
ledge, of South Carolina, is, by far, the greatest orator ; 
but if you speak of solid information and sound judgment. 
Colonel Washington is unquestionably the greatest man 
on that floor." 

John Adams took occasion to point out what, under 
the present circumstances, should be the qualifications of 
a commander-in-chief, and closed by remarking, that they 
knew a man who had these qualifications — " a member of 
this house from Virginia." He alluded to Washington. 
A few days after, the army was regularly adopted, and 
the salary of the commander-in-chief fixed at five hundred 
dollars a month. That arranged, Mr. Johnson, of Maiy- 
land, nominated Washington for the ofiice. The election 
was by ballot, and he was unanimously chosen. The next June 
day the president of Congress formally announced to him ■'^' 
his election. Washington rose in his seat and briefly ex- 
pressed his gratitude for the unexpected honor, and his 
devotion to the cause. Then he added, " I beg it may 
be remembered by every gentleman in this room, that I 
this day declare, with the utmost sincerity, I do not 



326 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP think myself equal to the command I am honored 

with." Kefusing any pay, he continued, " I will keep an 

1775. exact account of my expenses. Those, I doubt not, 
they will discharge, and that is all I desire." Con- 
gress resolved " to maintain and assist, and adhere to 
him with their lives and fortunes in the defence of 
American liberty." 



I 



CHAPTEK XXVIII. 

THE WAR OF THE KEVOLUTION 

Battle of Bunker Ilill. — Death of Warren. — Washington on his way to join 
the Army. — Generals Charles Lee and Schuyler. — State of Affairs in 
New York. — Sir AVilliam Johnson.- — The Condition of the Army. — ^Na- 
thaniel Greene. — Morgan and his Riflemen. — Wants of the Army. — 
Difficulties on Lake Champlain. — Expedition against Canada. — Richard 
Montgomery. — Allen's rash Adventure. — Montreal captured. — Arnold's 
toilsome March to Quebec. — That Place besieged. — Failure to storm 
the Town. — Death of Montgomery. — Arnold in his Icy-Fortress. 

Foe two months the armies in and around Boston had 
watched each other. General Gage, in the mean time, xjy^ 

had received large reinforcements. These were led hy 

three commanders of reputation : Generals Howe, Bur- -^^''^^■ 
goyne, and Henry Clinton. We may judge of the sur- 25. 
prise of these generals to find the king's regulars " hemmed 
in hy what they termed a rustic rout, with calico frocks 
and fowling-pieces." " What ! " exclaimed Burgoyne, 
" ten thousand peasants keep five thousand king's troops 
shut up ! Well, let vis get in, and we'U soon find elbow- 
room." This vain boast was followed by no decided move- 
ment. Gage merely sent forth a proclamation, declared 
the province under martial law, and offered pardon to aU 
the rebels who should return to their allegiance, except 
Samuel Adams and John Hancock. These " rebels " were 
placed beyond the pale of the king's mercy. 

The patriot soldiers, numbering about fifteen thou- 
sand, had come from their various towns, in independent 
companies, under their own leaders ; their friends in their 



328 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

<"HAP. respective towns supplied them with provisions. The 

'. Massachusetts troops were under General Ward ; John 

1775. Stark led the New Hampshire volunteers ; Putnam com- 
manded those from Connecticut, and Nathaniel Greene 
the regiment from Khode Island. The artillery, consisting 
of nine pieces, was under the control of the venerable 
Colonel Gridley. The great majority of the soldiers were 
clad in their homespun working clothes ; some had rifles 
and some had fowling-pieces. The British greatly exas- 
perated them by taunts and acts expressive of contempt. 
Opposed to the motley group of patriot soldiers, was a well- 
disciplined army of ten thousand men, under experienced 
commanders. 

It was rumored that Gage intended to seize and 
fortify Bunker's Hill and Dorchester Heights — the one 
lying north and the other south of the town. In order to 
prevent this, some of the patriots proposed that they 
should take possession of the hiU themselves. The more 
cautious were oiDposed to the enterprise, as extremely 
hazardous ; it might provoke a general action, and they 
were deficient in ammunition and guns. But the fearless 
Putnam felt confident, with proper intrenchments, the 
patriots could not fail of success. " The Americans," 
said he, " are never afraid of their heads, they only think 
of their legs ; shelter them, and they will fight forever." 
It was reported that the enemy intended to seize Bunker 
Hill on the night of the eighteenth of June, and therefore 
J not a moment was to be lost. On the evening of Friday 
16. the sixteenth, a company of about twelve hundred men, 
with their arms, and provisions for twenty-four hours, as- 
sembled on the common at Cambridge. Very few of them 
knew where they were going, bixt all knew that it was 
into danger. Prayer Avas offered by President Langdon, 
of Harvard College. About nine o'clock they commenced 
their march, under the command of Colonel Wilham 
Prescott, a veteran of the French war ; one in whom the 



BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 329 

soldiers had implicit confidence. Charlestown Neck was ^^P; 
strongly guarded, but they passed over it in safety, and .' 



were soon on the ground. Bunker HiU was designated in 1775. 
the orders, hut Breed's Hill, as it had a better command 
of the harbor, was fortified instead. The ground was 
speedily marked out, and about midnight the men com- 
menced their labors. Early daylight revealed to the aston- 
ished eyes of the British sailors in the harbor the strong 
redoubt that had sprung up so suddenly on the hill-top, 
and the Americans still busy at their work. Without 
waiting for orders, the sloop-of-war Lively opened her 
guns upon them ; a floating battery and other ships did 
the same. The firing roused the people of Boston. Gage, 
through his spy-glass, noticed Prescott, who was on the 
parapet inspecting the works. " Who is that officer in 
command," ho asked ; " will he fight .^ " " He is an old 
soldier, and will fight to the last drop of his blood," replied 
one who knew Prescott well. " The works must be car- 
ried," remarked Gage. An hour later the plan of attack 
was decided ujion by a council of war. 

From the heights the Americans saw and heard the 
bustle of preparation. Repeated messages were sent to 
General Ward for the promised reinforcements. Putnam 
hurried to Cambridge to urge the demand in person. 
Ward hesitated lest he should weaken the main division. 
It was eleven o'clock before Stark and Eeed, with their 
regiments, were ordered to the relief of Prescott, and the 
wearied soldiers, who had been laboring all night at the 
redoubt. 

About noon, twenty-eight barges filled with soldiers, 
under the command of Generals Howe and Pigott, left 
Boston. The ships kept up an incessant cannonade to 
cover their landing. General Howe discovered that the 
works were stronger than he anticipated, and he sent to 
General Gage for reinforcements ; his men, while waiting, 
were regaled with refreshments and " grog." Meantime 



330 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, the Americans strengthened their works, and formed a 

. . rustic breastwork ; to do this, they jjulled up a post-and- 

1775. rail fence, placed it behind a stone fence, and filled the 
space between with new-mown grass. This extended 
down the side of the hill north of the redoubt to a swamp. 
Now they were cheered by the sight of Stark, who ap- 
peared with five hundred men. As he marched leisurely 
along, some one suggested a rapid movement. The vet- 
eran replied, " One fresh man in action is worth ten tired 
ones ; " and he moved quietly on. A part of his force 
halted with Putnam at Bunker Hill, and a part joined 
Knowlton behind the fence breastwork. About two 
o'clock. Dr. Warren, who had recently been appointed 
major-general, but had not received his commission, ar- 
rived. He came, as did Pomeroy, to serve in the ranks. 
When Putnam pointed him to the redoubt, and said, 
" There you will be under cover," " Don't think," replied 
Warren, "' that I seek a place of safety — where will the 
attack be the hottest ? " Still pointing to the same spot 
Putnam answered : " That is the enemy's object ; if that 
can be maintained the day is ours." When Warren en- 
tered tlie redoubt, the soldiers received him with hearty 
cheers. Prescott ofi'ered him the command, which he 
gracefully declined, saying : " I shall be happy to learn 
from a soldier of your experience." 

The day was clear and bright : the British, in their 
brilliant uniforms, presented a fine appearance. Thou- 
sands watched every movement from the house-tops in 
Boston and from the neighboring liills. Fathers, husbands, 
sons, and brothers were to meet the enemy, for the first 
time, in a regular battle. The expedition had commenced 
with prayer on Cambridge green, and now minister Mc- 
Clintock, of New Hampshire, was passing among the men 
praying and exhorting them to stand firm. 

About half-past two o'clock, the British, confident of 
an easy victory, advanced ; one division, under General 



BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 331 

Pigott, marched up the hill to storm the redoubt in front, chap. 

while the other, under General Howe, advanced against the 

fence breastwork, in order to gain the rear and cut off the I'^TS. 
retreat. The redoubt was commanded by Prescott. Stark, 
Knowlton, and Eeed, with some of the New Hampshire 
and Connecticut men, were at the fence. As he saw the 
enemy advancing, Prescott, with liis usual presence of 
mind, jjassed among his men and encouraged them. " The 
redcoats," said he, " will never reach the redoubt, if you 
will but withhold your fire till I give the order, and be 
careful not to shoot over their heads." The impetuous 
Putnam, who seems to have had no special command, was 
everywhere. " Wait till you see the whites of their eyes, 
aim at their waistbands, pick off the handsome coats, 
steady my lads," were his directions as he rode along the 
lines. " Wait for orders and fire low," was the policy 
that controlled the movements on Bunker HUl. 

The British, as they advanced, kept up an incessant 
discharge of musketry. Not a soimd issued from the 
Americans. When Pigott's division came within forty 
paces, those in the redoubt levelled their gims for a mo- 
ment, then Prescott gave the word : " Fire ! " Whole 
ranks were cut down. The enemy fell back, but urged on 
by their officers, again advanced. The Americans allowed 
them to come nearer than before, but received them more 
warmly. The carnage was dreadful ; Pigott himself or- 
dered a retreat. At the same moment Howe's division 
was also retreating. The brave band who guarded the 
fence, had allowed him to advance within thirty paces, 
then had poured in their reserved fire with deadly effect. 
Both divisions retired down the hill to the shore. Gage 
had threatened that he would burn the town of Charles- 
town if the Ameiicans should occupy the heights. The 
threat was now carried into execution, by bombs thrown 
from the sliips and Cojjp's Hill. The conflagration added 
new horrors to the scene. 



332 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

??vui The British resolved upon a second attack. This 

JLa. V ill. t • 1 

— - — . proved a counterpart of the first. By volleys discharged 
1775. at the right moment, and with rmerring aim, their whole 
force was driven back. Their officers labored to check 
them, even urged them on with their swords, but in vain ; 
they retreated to the shore. " If we drive them back once 
more," exclaimed Prescott, " they cannot rally again." 
" We are ready for the redcoats again," was the response 
from the redoubt. 

General Clinton watched the movements from Copp's 
Hill. He witnessed the repulse of the " king's regulars " 
with astonishment ; he hastened over as a volunteer with 
reinforcements. Some officers were oj^posed to another 
attack ; they thought it little short of butchery to lead 
men in the face of such sharp-shooting. Now they learned 
that the ammunition of the Americans was nearly ex- 
hausted. They resolved to carry the redoubt at the point 
of the bayonet. The attack was to be specially directed 
against an open space which they had noticed between 
the breastwork and the fortified fence. The Americans 
used what little powder they had with great effect ; they 
could pour in but a single volley upon the enemy ; but 
by this a number of British officers were slain. The Brit- 
ish, however, advanced with fixed bayonets, and assailed 
the redoubt on three sides. The first who appeared on 
the parapet, as he ciied out, " The day is ours," was shot 
down. Now followed a desperate encounter ; those Amer- 
icans who had not bayonets fought with stones and the 
butts of their muskets. It was imiDossible to maintain the 
ground ; Prescott gave the word, and they commenced an 
orderly retreat. The aged Pomeroy clubbed his musket 
and retreated with his face to the enemy. Stark, Knowl- 
ton, and Eeed, kept their position at the fence tUl their 
companions had left the redoubt and passed down the 
hill, and thus prevented the enemy from cutting off the 
retreat ; then they slowly retired. 



CHARLES LEE — PHILIP SCHUYLER. 333 

About three thousand British were engaged in this chap. 

battle, and about fifteen hundred Americans. The British ; 

lost more than one thousand men, an unusual proportion 1775. 
of whom were officers, among whom was Major Pitcairn, 
of Lexington memory ; while the Americans lost but four 
hundred and fifty, but among these was Dr. Warren. He 
was one of the last to leave the redoubt ; he had scarcely 
passed beyond it when he fell. On the morning of that 
day he had expressed himself willing, if necessary, to die 
for his countiy. — That country has embalmed his name as 
one of the bravest and noblest of her sons. 

The raw militia had met the British " regulars," and 
had proved themselves their equals ; they left the field 
only when destitute of ammunition. 

The British ministry was not satisfied with this vic- 
tory, nor were the Americans discouraged by this defeat. 
When the news of the battle reached England, G-eneral 
Gage was at once recalled. When Washington learned 
of it fi'om the courier who was hastening to Congress with 
the news, he exclaimed : " The liberties of the countiy 
are safe ! " 

This famous battle took place on the seventeenth of 
June ; on the twenty-first Washington, accompanied by 
Generals Lee and Schuyler, left Philadelphia to join the 
army as Commander-in-chief General Charles Lee was 
an Englishman by birth ; a soldier by profession, he had 
been engaged in campaigns in various parts of Europe, 
and in the French war. Frank in disposition, but sar- 
castic in manner, and evidently soured by disappointmentj 
he had resigned the British service, and for some reason 
indulged in feelings of bitter animosity to the English 
name. His connection with their cause was counted of 
great consequence by the Americans. 

General Philip Schuyler was a native of New York, 
of Dutch descent. As a man of wealth, position, educa- 
tion, and well-known integrity, he had great influence in 



334 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



™j^- that province. He had some experience, also, in military 

affairs ; during the French war, when a youth of two and 

1775. twenty, he campaigned with Sir William Johnson and his 
Mohawks. Though in his native province the rich and 
influential were generally loyalists, from the beginning of 
tlie troubles Schuyler ardently espoused the cause of the 
colonists. He was versed in civil affairs, having been a 
member of the New York General Assembly, and i-ecently 
a delegate to Congress, where his practical good sense had 
attracted attention. At this time, danger was appre- 
hended from the Mohawks, who lived in the northern and 
central parts of New York. It was feared that, influenced 
by the Johnson family, they would rally against the colo- 
nists. Sir William Johnson, of whom we have spoken, 
the ancestor of this family, was of Scotch-Irish descent, a 
man of vigorous mind but of coarse associations ; he had 
acquired great influence over the Indians by adopting 
their customs, had married an Indian wife, sister of Brandt, 
the chief, afterward so famous. For nearly thirty years 
he was agent for the Five Nations ; he became rich by 
trafiic, and lived in his castle on the Mohawk river, in 
baronial style, with Scotch Highlanders as tenants. Sir 
William was dead, but his son and heir, John Johnson, 
and his son-in-law, Guy Johnson, were suspected of tam- 
permg with the Mohawks. No one knew the state of 
affairs in New York better than Schuyler ; he was ac- 
quainted with the tory aristocracy ; he understood the 
Johnsons, and to him Washington intrusted the charge 
of that province. 

As a singular incident it may be noted, that as Wash- 
ington approached New York by way of New Jersey, the 
ship on board of which was the royalist governor Tryon, 
who was just returning from England, came into the har- 
bor. The committee appointed to do the honors was 
somewhat perplexed. Fortunately their principles were 
not tested : these two men, the one the representative of 



CONDITION OF THE ARMY. 335 

the Continental Congress, the other of the king, did not ™-^^ 

reach the city at the same time. The escort that received '. 

Washington, were at leisure, a few hours later, to render 1T75. 
to Governor Tryon the same honor. 

The Commander-in-chief was met at Springfield by 
the committee of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, 
and escorted to the camp. The greatest enthusiasm pre- 
vailed ; the soldiers everywhere greeted him with hearty 
cheers. Such a welcome, while it gratified his feelings, 
was calculated to increase his sense of responsibility. A 
great work was before him — a work not yet begun ; he 
was to bring order out of confusion ; to lead on tlie cause 
of freedom to a successful issue. In his letters written 
about this time, he expresses a calm trust in a Divine 
Providence, that wisely orders all things. 

A personal survey of the army revealed more perfectly 
the difficulties to be overcome. It numbered about four- 
teen thousand men ; to be effective, it must be increased 
to twenty or thirty thousand. The trooj)8 were unorgan- 
ized and undisciplined, without uniforms, poorly clad, and 
imperfectly armed. To discipline these volunteers would 
be no easy task ; they could not be subjected to strict 
military rule. Even among this noble band of patriot 
officers, were jealousies to be soothed, and prejudices to 
be regarded. Some felt that they had been overlooked or 
underrated in the appointments made by Congress. 

A council of war resolved to maintain the present line 
of works, to capture the British, or drive them out of 
Boston. Washington chose for his head-quarters a cen- 
tral position at Cambridge ; here were stationed Major- 
general Putnam and Brigadier-general Heath. General 
Artemas Ward was stationed with the right wins at Rox- 
bury, and General Charles Lee commanded the left on 
Prospect Hill. Under Lee were the Brigadier-generals 
Greene and SuUivan, and under Ward the Generals 



336 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

^HAP. Spencer and Thomas. Of this number, Greene merits 

special notice. His father a farmer, miller, and anchor 

1775. snaith, as well as occasionally a Quaker preacher, endeavored 
to train his son in his own faith. The son's tastes were 
decidedly military. Of a genial disposition, he was fond 
of social amusements, but never at the expense of things 
more important. He cultivated his mind by reading the 
best English authors of the time on science and history ; 
to do this he snatched the moments from daily toil. Indus- 
trious and strictly temperate, his perceptions were clear, 
and his love of order almost a passion. With zest he read 
books on military tactics, and before he had laid aside the 
Quaker costume, he took lessons in the science of military 
drill, by watching the exercises and manoeuvres of the 
British troops on parade on Boston Common. Their order 
and precision had a charm for the embryo general. None 
took a deeper interest than he in the questions that agi- 
tated the country, and he was more than once chosen by 
the people to represent them in the Colonial Legislature. 
The army was now joined by some companies of rifle- 
men, mostly Scotch and Irish ; baclcwoodsmen of Penn- 
sylvania, Virginia, and Maryland, enUsted by ordei-s of 
Congress. They had marched six hundred miles in twenty 
days. If their peculiar dress, the hunting-shirt, and their 
motto, " Liberty or Death," worn on their head-band, 
their robust appearance, their stature, scarcely one of 
them being less than six feet, excited admiration, much 
more did their feats of sharp-shooting. " When advanc- 
ing at a quick step," it was said, " they could hit a mark 
of seven inches diameter at a distance of two hundred and 
fifty yards." Their leader, Daniel Morgan, was a native 
of New Jersey, though brought up on the frontiers of 
Virginia. When a youth, his education had been neglect- 
ed ; he could scarcely read or write ; vmpolished in his 
manners, generous in his impulses, honorable in his own 
feelings, he instinctively scorned meanness or duphcity in 



THE INFORMATION LAID BEFORE CONGRESS. 337 

others. In his twentieth year, as a wagoner, he took his chap. 

xxvin 
first lessons in warfare in Braddock's unfortunate cam- '. 

paign. His character adapted itself to emergencies. When 1775. 

left to act in responsible situations, his good sense was 

never at fault ; wherever placed, he performed well his 

part. 

As soon as he obtained the requisite information, 
Washington laid before Congress the state of the army, 
with suggestions as to the best means to furnish it with 
provisions, munitions, and men. He also suggested that 
diversities of uniform had a tendency to encourage sec- 
tional feelings, and recommended Congress to provide, at 
least ten thousand hunting-shirts, adding, " I know noth- 
ing in a speculative view more trivial, yet which, if put 
in practice, would have a happier tendency to unite the 
men, and abolish those provincial distinctions that lead to 
jealousy and dissatisfaction." This was the origin of the 
peculiar uniform of American soldiers. A few days after 
this report was sent to Congress, it was discovered that, 
by mistake, a false return of the powder in the camp had 
been made — the supply was nearly exhausted. This dis- 
covery crippled every movement, and left the Americans 
at the mercy of the enemy, should they be attacked. Their 
only safety lay in silence and inaction. Messengers were 
hurried in every direction to collect and send to the camp 
all the powder that could be obtained. In about a fort- 
night they procured a small supply. 

We now turn to affairs in New York, where, it will be 
remembered, Schuyler had command. After their brave 
exploits on Lake Champlain, Arnold and Allen both claim- 
ed authority over the captured forts — the former referred 
to Massachusetts, the latter to Connecticut, to confirm 
their respective claims. As these forts belonged to New 
York, AUen wrote to the Congress of that province for 
supplies of men and money to defend them. But the 
whole matter was, at length, referred to the Continental 
22 



338 HISTORY OF THK UNITED STATES. 

CHAR Congress, whicli decided that New York should have the 

charge of the forts, and authorized it to call upon New 

1T75. England for aid in their defence. The call was made upon 
Connecticut, in answer to which Colonel Hinman, with a 
thousand men, was sent to join Arnold. Allen's Green 
Mountain Boys were by this time disbanded, as their term 
of enlistment had expired. These war sjsirits, Arnold and 
Allen, had urged upon the Continental Congress to fur- 
nish them means to invade Canada. Allen, in company 
with Seth Warner, went in person to that body for au- 
thority to raise a new regiment. It was granted, and the 
New York Congress was recommended to receive this 
regiment of their ancient enemies into the regular army. 
They were to choose their own leader. For some reason 
Warner was chosen, and Allen entirely neglected ; but 
not to be baffled when a fight was on hand, he joined the 
army as a volunteer. Arnold claimed the entire authority 
at Ticonderoga, after the departure of Allen, and difficul- 
ties arose between him and Hinman. A committee sent 
from the Congress of Massachusetts to inquire into the 
matter, decided that the command belonged to Hinman. 
Arnold swore he would not be second, disbanded liis men, 
threw up his commission, and hurried to Cambridge. 

Congress was, at first, opposed to the invasion of Can- 
ada, and even thought of dismanthng the forts on Lake 
Champlain. Eecent intelligence that the authorities of 
that jjrovince were making preparations to recapture the 
forts and to regain the command of the lake, induced 
them to determine upon its invasion in self-defence. 
Schuyler learned that seven hundred of the king's troops 
were in Canada ; that Guy Johnson, with three hundred 
tenants and Indians, was at Montreal ; that St. John's 
was fortified, and war-vessels were building there, and al- 
most ready to pass by the Sorel into the lake. Yet he 
was encouraged by rumors that some of the inhabitants 
were disaffected, and might be induced to join against the 



INVASION OF CANADA — RICHARD MONTGOMERY. 339 

mother countiy ; if so, the British would be deprived of a ^sap 

valuable recruiting station. Two expeditions against '. 

Canada were determined upon, one by way of Lake Cham- 1775. 
jilain, the other by the rivers Kennebec and Chaudiere. 
The former under Schuyler ; the latter was intrasted to 
Arnold, who was in the camp chafed and disappointed, 
but ready for any daring enterprise that promised dis- 
tinction. 

Operations were to commence by way of the lake, 
where were assembled the New York troops, and some 
from New England. Schuyler was ably seconded by 
Brigadier-general Richard Montgomery. Montgomery was 
a native of Ireland ; had, wlien a youth, been the com- 
panion of Wolfe in the French war. He resigned the 
British service, and remaining in America, settled in New 
York, where he married. A man of education and refine- 
ment, his generous sentiments led him to espouse ardently 
the cause of popular rights. 

General Schuyler passed from Ticonderoga down the 
lake, and took possession of the Isle aux Noix, in the Sorel 
river. This position commanded the entrance into Lake 
Champlain. He then made an attempt on St. John's, ^^P'- 
but finding it more strongly garrisoned than had been 
represented, he retired to the Isle aux Noix, with the in- 
tention of fortifying that imjjortant post, but severe sick- 
ness compelled him to return to Albany. The command 
devolved upon Montgomery. Schuyler was soon able to 
send him supplies and ammunition, and also reinforce- 
ments under General Wooster. 

Ethan Allen, as usual, without orders, went on one of 
his rash expeditions. Witli only eighty-three men, he 
attempted to take Montreal, was overpowered, and taken Sept. 
prisoner with his men. He himself was sent in irons to ^■^• 
England, to be tried as a rebel. Here closed the connec- 
tion of this daring leader of the Green Mountain Boys, 
with the war of the Revolution. He was not tried, but 



340 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, liberated ; then returned liomCj but from some dissatis- 

faction took no further part in the struggle. 

17T5. Montgomery sent a detachment which took Fort 

Chambly, a few miles further down the river, thus placing 
troops between St. John's and Canada. Sir Guy Carle- 
ton, the governor of that province, made exertions, but 
without success, to raise a force for the reUef of St. John's. 
But when on his way he was repulsed at the passage of 
the St. Lawrence by Colonel Seth Warner ; another party 
going up the Sorel on the same errand was also driven 
g ^ ■ back. The garrison at St. John's jiresently surrendered, 
and immediately the energetic Montgomery pushed on to 
Montreal, which submitted at the first summons, while 
Carleton with a few followers fled down the river to Que- 
bec. This was a very seasonable capture for the Ameri- 
cans, as it supplied them with woollen clothes, of which 
necessaries they were in great need. 

Montgomery made great exertions in the midst of dis- 
couragements, arising from insubordination, desertions, 
and the lateness of the season, to push on and join Arnold 
Sept. before Quebec. Two months before this time, that leader 
had left the camp before Boston with eleven hundred men, 
among whom were three companies of riflemen, under 
Morgan, to pass up the Kennebec, and thence across the 
wilderness to Quebec, there to unite with the force from 
New York. Aaron Burr, then a youth of twenty, accom- 
panied this expedition as a volunteer. It was a perilous 
undertaking. The journey was one of intense suffering 
and incessant toil. Six weeks they spent in dragging 
their boats up the river, and carrying the baggage around 
rapids ; they cut their way through thickets and briars, 
forded streams, climbed mountains, breasted storms, and 
were so much in want of food that they devoured their 
dogs, and even their moccasins. Their number was re- 
duced to about six hundred effective men ; one entire divi- 
sion had returned home with the sick and disabled. In a 



QUEBEC BESIEGED. 341 

forlorn condition the remainder suddenly appeared at chap. 

Point Levi, opposite Quebec. The inhabitants were as- 

tonished at the apparition, and could Arnold have crossed 1775. 
immediately, he might have taken the town ; but he was g 
unable to do so for want of boats. In a few days came 
Carleton from Montreal ; he put the town in a state of 
defense, and increased his force to twelve hundred men, 
by enlisting traders, sailors, and others. 

Although two armed vessels were on the watch, Ar- 
nold managed to cross the St. Lawrence, clambered up 
the Heights of Abraham, by the same rugged path that 
Wolfe had used, and boldly challenged the garrison to 
battle. The contest was declined. It was useless for him 
to attempt to besiege the town without cannon, so he 
moved twenty miles up the river, where he met Mont- 
gomery. The toilsome march through the wilderness 
nearly stripped Arnold's men of their clothes ; the wool- 
lens obtained at Montreal were to them also an acceptable 
protection against the rigors of a Canada winter. 

Their united force amounted to only nine himdred 
men. With these, Montgomery, who assumed the com- 
mand, advanced to Quebec. The flag he sent to demand 
a surrender was fired upon. A battery must be built ; 
the ordinary material was not at hand, but ingenuity sup- 
j)lied its place. Gabions were filled with snow and ice, 
over which water was poured, and a Canada winter soon 
rendered them solid, but no ingenuity could render the 
ice otherwise than brittle — every shot from the town shat- 
tered it in piece.". It was now found that their cannon 
were too small. They could not batter the walls, and it 
was as fraitless to attempt to scale them. Some other 
plan must be adopted. 

It was determined to make a sudden attack on the 
lower town. Montgomery, with one division, was to ad- 
vance upon the south side, while Arnold was to make an 
attempt upon the north. At the same time, feint move- 



342 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

xxrar ^®°^^ ^^^^ *'° ^^ made against the upper town, and signal 

rockets fired from the different points to distract and 

1775. divert the attention of the enemy. On the thirty-first of 
31 ■ December a Winding snow-storm favored their enterprise. 
At two o'clock on the morning of that day they were on 
the march. The feint that was to cover the movement of 
Montgomery was successful. Undiscovered he descended 
from the Heights of Abraham, passing safely around Cape 
Diamond to the defile that led to the town. The pass, at 
all times difficult, was now obstructed by ice and drifting 
snow. It was defended by barriers guarded by Canadian 
militia. Taken by surprise, they fled from the picket. 
Montgomery passed the first barrier unopposed. As he 
stepped beyond it, sanguine and exultant with hope, he 
exclaimed : " Push on, my brave boys ; Quebec is ours ! " 
Just then, a single gun loaded with grape-shot was fired 
from a battery ; he fell, and by his side his aids and many 
others, who had answered to his cheering call. The sol- 
diers, disheartened at the fall of their brave leader, were 
willing to abandon the town, under the lead of Quarter- 
master Campbell, leaving the bodies of the slain Mont- 
gomery, Cheeseman, and MacPherson where they fell. 

By some neglect, no feint movement was made to 
cover the march of Arnold. He was harassed by a flank- 
ing fire as he pushed on to the entrance of the town. His 
leg being shattered by a ball, he was imable to lead his 
men against the battery. Morgan assumed the command, 
and with his riflemen stormed it, and captured the men. 
At daylight ho reached the second batteiy, which was also 
carried ; but now the forces of the British were concen- 
trated at this point. Morgan's party made a brave resist- 
ance, but were overpowered by numbers, and comj^elled 
to surrender. He himself was the last to submit. When 
called upon by the British soldiers to deliver up his sword, 
he refused, planted himself against a wall, and defied them 
to take it. They threatened to shoot him ; his men expos- 



MORGAN AND HIS MEN PRISONERS. 343 

tulated. At length he saw a man — a priest he knew him i'.^^- 

to he from his dress ; to him he gave it, saying : "I will 

give my sword to you, hut not a scoundrel of those cow- 1775. 
ards shall take it out of my hands." The bravery of 
Morgan and his men was appreciated by Carleton ; as 
prisoners, they were treated with special kindness. 

Arnold now retired about three miles up the river, 
and there in a camp whose ramparts were formed of frozen 
snow and of ice, he blockaded Quebec through the winter. 
Here we leave him for the present. 

Montgomery was at first buried at Quebec. When 
nearly half a century had passed away, New York remem- 
bered her adopted son. She transferred his remains to her 
metropolis, and with appropriate honors reinterred them 1818. 
in St. Paul's church-yard. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

■WAR OF THE REVOLUTION— CONTINUED. 

Meeting of Congress ; alarming Evils require its Attention. — British Cruis- 
ers. — Portland burned. — Efforts to defend the Coast. — Congress acts 
with Energy. — Parliament resolves to crush the Rebels. — Henry Knox. — 
Difficulties in the Army. — Provincial Prejudices. — Success of the Priva- 
teers. — British Theatricals. — The Union Flag. — Affairs in New Tork. — 
Rivington'a Gazette. — Governor Tryon. — General Lee in the City. — The 
Johnsons. — Dunmore's Measures in Virginia ; Norfolk burned. — Defeat 
of North Carolina Tories. — Lee at the South. — Cannon and Powder ob- 
tained. — Dorchester Heights fortified. — Boston Evacuated. — Washing- 
ton in New York. — British and German Troops in Canada. — Numerous 
Disasters. — The Retreat from Canada. — Horatio Gates. — A British Fleet 
before Fort Moultrie. — Gloomy Prospects. 

CHAP. When the Continental Congress reassembled, delegates 

XXIX / o 

'_ from Georgia took their seats, for the first time, and the 

1775. style was assumed of The Thirteen United Colonies. 
bept. During the session, a delegate from beyond the moun- 

Oct. tains presented himself as the representative of the colony 
of Transylvania, the germ of the present State of Ken- 
tucky, (settled by those bold pioneers, Boone, Harrod, 
and Henderson), but the delegate of the fourteenth colony 
was rejected, on the ground that Virginia claimed the 
territory. 

Alarming evils required the prompt attention of Con- 
gress. The army was almost destitute of ammunition 
and military stores ; the coast, to a great extent, unpro- 
tected ; British cruisers hovered on the shores of New 
England ; demanded of the inhabitants suppHes ; burned 



POBTLAND BURNED PLANS OF DEFENCE. 345 

and pillaged the towns. The notorious Captain Wallace ^^^• 

was stationed in Narragansett Bay ; Stonington and Bris- 

tol had been bombarded, and Newport was threatened ITTS. 
with destruction. The British Admiral, Graves, it was ^ " 
said, had issued orders to burn all the rebel towns from 
Halifax to Boston. This was no idle rumor. At Fal- 
mouth, now Portland, in Maine, the destruction began. 
This patriotic little town had, some time before, resolutely 18. 
repulsed Lieutenant Mowatt of the British navy. One 
evening he ajjpeared with several vessels in the harbor, 
prepared to mete out the punishment due for such rebel- 
lion. He informed the inliabitants of his intention, and 
allowed them two hours " to remove the human species 
out of the town." A further respite until nine o'clock 
next morning was with difficulty obtained. The people 
removed during the night ; then, by means of bombs and 
carcasses, this flourishing village of five hundred houses 
was laid in ashes. The other towns assumed a posture 
of defence, and avoided a similar ruin. 

The colonies separately took measures to defend their 
coasts against such attacks. Already Maiyland, Virginia, 
and South CaroUna had appointed Naval Boards, and 
equipped armed vessels. The British ships had been 
driven from the harbor at Charleston ; a powder-ship had 
been captured by a South Carolina vessel. Washington 
had sent cruisers into the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Mas- 
sachusetts Bay, to intercept supplies intended for the 
enemy. One of these, the schooner Lee, commanded by 
Captain Manly, deserves particular mention. She did 
the country good service. Khode Island, Massachusetts, 
and Connecticut, now equipped a few small vessels. Al- 
though a few harbors were thus defended, the force that 
protected the coast was still insufficient. 

Congress applied themselves vigorously to remedy 
these evils. They forwarded some of the powder seized by 



346 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, the South Carolinians to the camp ; ai^pointed a secret 

.^ committee to import it from the West Indies ; took meas- 

1775. ures to establish mills for its mamifacture, and founderies 
°^' for the making of cannon. They licensed privateers, and 
ordered gun-boats to be prepared for the defence of the 
harbors ; appointed a Naval Committee, which was au- 
thorized to build thirteen frigates ; but, alas ! want of 
funds interfered sadly with the accomplishment of these 
proposed measures. 
Dec. In this Naval Committee we recognize the germ of 



13. 



o'- 



the Navy Department. About this time a secret com- 
mittee was authorized to open a private correspondence 
with the friends of the cause in England, Ireland, and 
elsewhere ; this grew into the State Department. Thus 
was the Continental Congress gradually laying the foun- 
dation of the present government of the United States. 

Parliament, in the mean time, took measures to crush 
the " rebels ; " enacted laws against them, cruel in the 
extreme ; gave orders to treat them in warfare not as 
equals, but as criminals, who should be thankful to escape 
the gallows. The ministry proclaimed aU shijjs trading 
to the colonies lawful prizes ; and the crews of all cap- 
tured colonial trading vessels virtually slaves ; these were 
doomed to serve in the royal navy as marines. Parlia- 
ment also voted to increase their army in America to 
forty thousand men — of this number twenty-five thousand 
Nov. had yet to be raised. They could not be obtained in 
Grreat Britain ; men would not enlist. Lord Howe had 
written to the ministry that Catholic Irish soldiers could 
not be trusted, and suggested the employment of German 
troops. Negotiations were accordingly commenced with 
two of the little German principalities, Brunswick and 
Hesse Cassel ; and the English monarch hired seventeen 
thousand Germans, or Hessians, to aid him in subduing 
the descendants of Enghshmen in America. In vain did 



HENRY KNOX COMMITTEE OF CONGRESS. 347 

the best and most humane in Parliament oppose these chap. 

measures. There was in England an honorable minority, 

who felt for the cause of the colonists. Burke and Barre ITTS. 
stood firm ; Conway and the Duke of Grafton resigned 
their offices, and joined the opposition ; Lord Effingham 
and the son of Pitt threw up their commissions in the 
army, rather than take part in the unnatural struggle. 
The mercantile interests of the country, and especially 
the Corporation of London, were opposed to the measures 
of Parliament. Intelligence of them aroused the Ameri- 
cans to greater exertions, and deepened their hostility to 
the mother country. 

Since the battle of Bunker HiU, the armies in and 
aroimd Boston had been inactive — the British from choice, 
the Americans from want of ammunition. Washington 
was anxious to be ready, when the bay should be frozen 
to pass over to the town on the ice. But he must have 
powder and ordnance. 

Henry Knox, a bookseller of Boston, had entered with 
great zeal into the cause of his country. He had an in- 
tuitive skiU in the use of artillery, which he first displayed 
on Bunker Hill, and afterward in planning the defences 
of the camp. His aptness and energy attracted the atten- 
tion of Washington. Knox jiroposed to go to Ticonde- 
roga and Crown Point, and bring from those places the 
cannon and powder that could be spared. Washington aj)- 
proved the suggestion, wrote to Schuyler at Albany to give 
his assistance, and to Congress, recommending Knox as col- 
onel of a regiment of artillery. Knox immediately set out. 

Other difficulties surrounded the army. The soldiers 
had enlisted but for one year, their terms would expire 
before the first of January. In anticipation of this, a 
committee of the Continental Congress, consisting of Doc- 
tor Franklin, Colonel Harrison, of Virginia, and Thomas 
Lynch, of Carolina, met at Cambridge, with committees 



348 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, from the New England colonies, to reorganize the army, 

and to devise means to increase it to thirty-two thousand. 

1775. The committees were in favor of an attack upon Bos- 

ton as soon as practicable. Their plans were well laid, 
but how could they be carried out ? The soldiers were 
unwilling to re-enlist ; the zeal of the patriot army had 
begun to flag ; winter was coming on ; they were ill-fitted 
to endure its hardships ; their fuel was scanty and their 
clothing poor ; their families needed their presence ; the 
attractions of home presented a delightful contrast to the 
privations of a winter campaign. Their jjatriotism was 
not extinct, but they were weary and discouraged. Says 
Washington, in a letter : " The desire of retiring into a 
chimney-corner seized the troojjs as soon as their terms 
expired." 

Those who were willing to re-enhst, would do so only 
on certain conditions. They must know under what offi- 
cers they were to be placed. Provincial prejudices had 
their effect ; the men of one colony hesitated to serve 
with those of another, or imder officers not of their own 
choosing. It is pleasing to record one instance of high- 
minded patriotism — doubtless there were many. Colonel 
Asa Whitcombe, a worthy and experienced officer, was 
not reappointed on account of his advanced age. His men 
took offence, and refused to re-enhst. The colonel set 
them an example by enlisting himself as a private soldier. 
A younger officer immediately resigned the command of 
his regiment that Whitcombe might be appointed, which 
was done. 

On the first of December, some days before their terms 
expired, a portion of the Connecticut troops began to re- 
turn home ; they were unwilKng even to remain in camp 
till their places could be supphed. Their arms were re- 
tained at an assessed value. 

In the midst of this gloom, the privateers did good 
service. The camp was thrown into ecstasies by the 



DESECBATIONS — THE UNION FLAG. 349 

arrival of a long train of wagons laden with military stores, ^f^- 

The brave Captain Manly had cai^tured off Cape Ann a 1 

brigantine laden with guns, mortars, and working tools, 1775. 
designed for the British army. Among the cannon thus 
obtained was an immense mortar. This was deemed so 
great a prize, that in the joy of the moment, it was pro- 
posed to give it a name. " Old Putnam mounted it, 
dashed on it a bottle of rum, and gave it the name of 
Congress." 

The blockade of the British was so stringent, that they 
began to suffer seriously for fuel and fresh provisions : 
they could obtain none from the land side, while the coast 
was closely watched. Abundant suppUes were sent from 
England, but these were often wrecked or captured. Some 
of the poorer houses were taken down to supply fuel, and 
many of the poorer people sent out of the town, in order 
to lessen the demand for provisions. 

To the grief of the patriot inhabitants, the Old South 
Church, that time-honored and sacred edifice, was con- 
verted into a riding-school for Burgoyne's light-horse, and 
the pastor's library used to kindle fires. In retaliation, 
the soldiers converted the Episcopal church at Cambridge 
into barracks, and melted the leaden pipes of the organ 
into bullets. The British officers beguiled their time by 
getting up balls and theatricals. Among the plays per- 
formed was one, written by General Burgoyne, caricatur- 
ing the American army and its officers. 

On the first of January the Union Flag was unfurled, 1776. 
for the first time, over the camp at Cambridge. It was 
emblematic of the state of the country. The EngUsh 
cross retained in one corner, intimated a still existing 
relation with the mother country, while the thirteen 
stripes of red and white that represented the thirteen 
colonies, now united for self-government and resistance to 



350 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CS-^P- oppression, were broacUy significant of the New Kepublic 

that was to grow out of this union. 

1776. The year opened drearily for the patriots. There were 

less than ten thousand men in the camp, among whom 
Tere many undisciplined recruits, and many without arms, 
whe people were impatient,— why not capture or drive 
the enemy out of Boston ? they asked on all sides. The 
situation of AVashington was painful in the extreme : he 
could not publish his reasons, lest the enemy should learn 
his weakness. Under these circumstances, he writes thus 
to a confidential friend : " We are now left with a good 
deal less than half-raised regiments, and about five thou- 
sand militia. * "•••" * If I shall be able to rise superior to 
these, and many other difiiculties, which might be enu- 
merated, I shall most religiously believe that the finger of 
Providence is in it, to blind the eyes of our enemies.'' 

About this time, ships commanded by Sir Henry Clin- 
ton left the harbor of Boston on a secret expedition. It 
was justly surmised that he was bound for New York. 
We turn once more to the state of affairs in that province. 

As has been said, much of the wealth and influence 
of New York was on the side of the Tories. Eichmond 
and Queen's counties had refused to send delegates to the 
Provincial Congress. Governor Tryon, who had retired 
to a British man-of-war in the harbor, kept up a corre- 
spondence with the friends of the royal cause in the city. 
There was published the most influential Tory journal in 
the country, " Piivington's Gazette" — "a thorn in the 
side of the patriots." Many who were opposed to this 
journal were unwilling to adopt violent measures ; the 
committee of safety refused to interfere with it. Colonel 
Isaac Sears, one of the boldest and most energetic of the 
New York Sons of Liberty, collected, in Connecticut, 
about a hundred horsemen, dashed into the city, broke the 
press and carried away the types to New Haven. 



GENERAL LEE IN NEW YORK. 351 

The possession of New York, as it was " the key to ^^|^- 

the whole continent, a passage to Canada, to the great 

Lakes, and to all the Indian nations," was all-important 1776. 
to the patriots. It was determined to place troops there. 
Sears, seconded by the authority of Governor Trumbull, 
proceeded to form regiments in Connecticut. Washington 
ordered General Charles Lee to take command of these 
regiments, and proceed with them to New York, put that 
city in a state of defence, call in aid from New Jersey to 
disarm the Tories on Long Island and elsewhere — duties 
which Lee proceeded forthwith to perform. Governor 
Tryon threatened to bombard the city if he entered it 
with the Connecticut troops. The people were greatly 
alarmed. The Provincial Congress requested Lee not to 
advance for the present. He was determined to push on 
with a sufficient number of troojjs to secure the city, and 
threatened in his turn, " if they make a pretext of my 
presence to. fire on the town, the first house set on flames 
by their guns shall be the funeral-pile of some of their best 
friends." He entered the city on Sunday, February fourth, Feb. 
and encamped on the spot where the City Hall now stands, *• 
then a suburb known as " The Fields." 

The threats and counter-threats had wrought up the 
feelings of the people to a state of intense excitement. 
During the day this was greatly increased ; cannon were 
heard from the Narrows. Sir Henry Clinton was entering 
the harbor. Many of the inhabitants hastened from the 
city ; on the afternoon of that Sabbath day, Kingsbridge 
was thronged with peojile and wagons, on their way to the 
country. But these fears were soon relieved. Clinton 
gave notice that he came merely to pay a visit to his • 
" friend Tryon." He remained but a short time, then 
sailed away to North Carolina. His mysterious expedition 
and his " whimsical civility " to his " friend Tryon " gave 
rise to much speculation ; though, as he had but few 



352 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, troops, his movements had, as yet, created but little alarm. 
Lee now proceeded to put the city in a state of defence. 



1776. 



Serious difficulties threatened the interior of the prov- 
ince. Guy Johnson had retired to Canada ; Sir John 
Johnson had fortified his " Hall," and gathered about him 
his Highlanders and Mohawks. Schuyler proceeded to 
JiiQ- disarm and disband this dangerous company. Sir John 
gave his parole not to take up arms against America. A 
few months afterward he was suspected of breaking his 
word ; to avoid arrest, he fled to Canada, where he re- 
ceived a colonel's commission, and organized the regi- 
ments called the " Koyal Greens," afterward so renowned 
for deeds of cruelty. 

During this winter, Governor Dunmore, of Virginia, 
who, like Tryon, had taken refuge in one of the king's 

June, ships, had been engaged in intrigues against the colonists. 

Dec. He sent a vessel to Boston with supplies, which, however, 
was captured. In a letter found on board, he had invited 
General Howe to transfer the seat of war to the South ; 
he also landed at Norfolk, carried off a printing j^ress, pub- 
lished a proclamation that promised freedom to the slaves 
or indented white servants of the patriots, who would join 
his cause. With a force thus collected he took possession 
of the town. Fugitive slaves and others began to flock 
to his banner. Virginia raised new regiments to dislodge 
him, and oppose strong movements that were making in 

Jan., his favor. The second regiment, under Woodford, took 

1776. possession of the narrow neck which connects Norfolk with 
the mainland, and compelled Dunmore to re-embark. 
Soon after he returned, bombarded the town, and landed 
a party who burned a portion of it to the ground. The 
jjatriots burned the remainder lest it should aflbrd shelter 
to its enemies. Thus perished the principal shipping port 
of Virginia, her largest and richest town. 



TORIES DEFEATED — CHARLESTON THREATENED. 353 

The British were secretly planning an invasion of the ™/P- 

South. Governor Martin, of North Carolina, who, like 1 

many of the royal governors of that day, carried on opera- 1776. 
tions from on board a ship, was stirring np the Tories of 
that province, many of whom were Highlanders. He 
hoped to gather a land force to co-operate with Sir Peter 
Parker, who was on his way from Ireland with a fleet of 
ten ships, on board of which were seven regiments. The 
movements of Sir Henry Clinton could now be accounted 
for. He had left Boston to take command of the land forces 
in this intended invasion : he stopped to confer on the sub- 
ject with Tryon, who had been governor of North Carolina. 

Martin had commissioned two prominent Scotchmen, 
McDonald and McLeod — both recent emigrants, and offi- 
cers of the British army. General McDonald enlisted 
some fifteen hundred men, and marched for the coast, but 
the North Carolina patriots were on the alert. He was 
intercepted at Moore's Creek Bridge, sixteen miles from Feb. 
Wilmington. Colonel McLeod was kiUed ; McDonald 
and eight hundred and fifty loyalists were taken prisoners. 
He and his officers were sent away to the north. 

This defeat, wliich at the first glance may appear of 
little consequence, was important in its bearing ; it inter- 
fered for a time with the plans of Clinton and Martin. 
This delay was most valuable to the patriots ; they had 
time to collect forces and mature ^ilans for defence. Gen- 
eral Lee was appointed by Congress to take command of 
the southern army and to watch Clinton, who was hover- 
ing on the coast in expectation of the British squadron. 
After long delays it arrived at the mouth of Cape Fear May. 
Eiver. Congress learned from intercepted letters that 
Charleston was to be attacked. There, at the first alarm, 
six thousand men, from Virginia and the Carolinas, had 
assembled. The indefatigable Lee reached the city just 
as Clinton appeared in the harbor. Had the enemy at- 
tacked that place at once, they might have taken it with 
23 



354 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

^.SAP. ease. It was, wrote Lee, " perfectly defenceless." The 

opjDortunity was not imjiroved, and both parties began to 

1776. fortify and prepare for a contest. Here we leave them for 

"V*® the present, and return to the camp before Boston. 

During the month of January there was little im- 
provement in the state of the army. On the tenth of 
February Washington writes : " Without men, without 
arms, without ammunition, little is to be done." The 
patriots had looked hojDcfully toward Canada, only to be 
disappointed. Montgomery had fallen ; Morgan and his 
brave band were prisoners ; the remnant of the shattered 
forces that lingered with Arnold in his icy fortress before 
the walls of Quebec, could accomplish nothing. The 
whole line of the Atlantic coast was threatened ; and in 
view of these circumstances Washington was anxious to 
strike a decisive blow, that should encourage the despond- 
ing and revive popular enthusiasm. In truth, the state 
of public feeling demanded such a course. Congress had 
Dec, authorized him to push the attack upon Boston, to the 
''^- destruction of the town, should it be necessary. John 
Hancock, who had large possessions there, said : " Do it, 
and may God crown your attempt with success." When 
the bay became frozen, Washington was impatient to cross 
over on the ice ; again and again he proposed an attack, 
but a council of war as often decided that the force was 
still too weak, the ammunition too scant. Meanwhile, 
Putnam was actively engaged in constructing works on 
the neighboring heights. Many of the labors conducted 
* by the brave old general had to be attended to in the night- 
time, to avoid the fire from the enemy's ships. Toward 
spring, aifairs began to wear a brighter aspect. Ten new 
regiments of militia were enlisted ; the great want that 
paralyzed every effort — jDowder — was supplied from various 
quarters ; some was obtained from New York, some from 
Bermuda : the Connecticut mills were also in operation. 



DORCHESTER HEIGHTS TO BE FORTIFIED. 355 

Now, to the great joy of the camp, Knox returned -with chap. 

his long train of sledges laden with ammunition, and can- 

non of various kinds. With the joy was mingled admira- 1776. 
tion for the energy displayed. He had travelled more 
than four hundred miles, over frozen streams and through 
a wilderness obstructed by the snows of winter. The dull 
monotony of inaction gave way to bustle and excitement. 
All was now ready for active operations. The heights 
that commanded the town must be seized and fortified. 
Putnam had already fortified Lechmere Point, on the 
north ; there he had mounted his famous " Congress : " 
that point had only to be supplied with more large cannon 
and with powder. Now the main object was to secure 
Dorchester Heights, which commanded the town on the 
south, and also the harbor. This would conipel the enemy 
to leave the town, or bring on a general engagement : 
plans were laid accordingly. 

To divert the attention of the enemy while prepara- 
tions were in progress, Boston was to be bombarded, and 
cannonaded from different points. Should the Americans 
attain the heights, and the enemy attempt to dislodge 
them, Putnam, with four thousand picked men, was pre- 
pared to cross Charles river and attack the north part of 
the town. 

Washington, deeply impressed with the importance of 
the coming struggle, issued orders forbidding " all playing 
at cards or other games of chance," adding, " In this time 
of public distress, men may find enough to do in the ser- 
vice of God and their country, without abandoning them- 
selves to vice and immorality." He also warned the troops, 
" If any man in action shall presume to skulk, hide him- 
self, or retreat from the enemy without orders, he will be 
instantly shot down as an example of cowardice." 

The fourth of March was fixed upon for the enterprise. 4^ ' 
On the evening of that day, the detachment under Gen- 
eral Thomas, designed to occupy the heights, moved as 



356 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

<^HAP. quietly as possible. In the advance were eight hundred 

men ; then came the carts with the intrenching tools ; 

1776. then twelve hundred more men, and in the rear were three 
hundred wagons laden with bales of hay and bundles of 
fagots to be used in making the breastwork. They reached 
the heights about eight o'clock ; amid the roar of artillery 
— for the enemy were returning the fire directed against 
them with great spirit — the noise of the wagons and the 
necessary bustle of the movement had been imheard. 
Though the earth was frozen eighteen inches deej), they 
threw up an embankment, and used their hay and other 
material to great advantage. During that night of labor, 
the Commander-in-chief was drawn by his interest to the 
spot. In the morning the fortification appeared very 
formidable. General Howe, as he examined it through 
the mist, exclaimed : " The rebels have done more work 
in one night than my whole army would have done in a 
month." The patriots, at this crisis, watched the move- 
ments of the enemy with intense interest. A cannonade 
was opened upon the heights, but without much effect. 
Howe did not attempt to storm the works. A night 
attack was resolved upon, but a furious stonn arose, the 
ships of war could render no service, nor could the boats 
land in the heavy surf. Before the storm was over, the 
Americans were too strong to be assaulted. A council of 
war advised Howe to evacuate the town, as both it and 
the shipping were exposed to a destructive bombardment. 
To insure the safety of his army during the embarkation, 
Howe appealed to the fears of the inhabitants ; he inti- 
mated he would burn the town if his troops were fired 
upon. A deputation of citizens made this known, in an 
informal manner to Washington, and the British were 
suffered to depart unmolested. 

Eleven days were employed in the embarkation. About 
fifteen hundred loyaUsts made ready to leave with the 
departing army ; thus was the good city of Boston purged 



WASHINGTON IN NEW YORK. 357 

of its Tory population. Authorized by Howe, the British ^ap. 

demanded of the inhabitants all the linen and woollen 

goods ; salt, molasses, and other necessaries were destroyed. 1776. 
Crean Brush, a New York Tory, who was commissioned to 
take charge of the goods that were seized, took advantage 
of his authority, and broke open and pillaged stores and 
private houses, as did some of the soldiers. The embarka- 
tion was hastened, at the last, by a false alarm that the 
Americans were about to assault the town. 

On the next Monday, March eighteenth, Washington jjjj^ 
entered the city. He was received with joy by the remain- 18. 
ing inhabitants. After a siege of ten months Boston was 
again free ; above it waved the Union flag of thirteen 
stripes. The British fleet, consisting of one hundred and 
fifty vessels, lay for some days in Nantasket roads, and 
then bore away. Washington feared its destination was 
New York. As soon as possible he hastened thither with 
the main body of the army. Five regiments remained at 
Boston with General Ward. Soon afterward he resigned, 
but served the cause in the Massachusetts council and in 
Congress. 

The land rejoiced greatly at this success. On motion 
of John Adams, Congress gave Washington a unanimous 
vote of thanks, and ordered a gold medal to be struck in 
commemoration of the event. 

The expenses of the war were so great, that just before ^^^• 
this Congress had been obliged to issue four additional 
millions of continental paper. A financial committee had 
been appointed, and now an auditor-general and assistants April. 
were to act under this committee ; this assumed the form 
of a Treasury Department. Two months later Congress 
established a War Ofiice, and appointed a committee of 
five members to superintend its operations. To act as 
chairman of this committee, John Adams resigned the 
office of chief justice of Massachusetts. 



358 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. Washington reached New York on the thirteenth of 

April ; there he found much to be done. The Heights 

1776. of Long Island, Kingsbridge, the main avenue from the 
city by land, were at best but imperfectly guarded, and 
many prominent points on the river and Sound were en- 
tirely undefended. 

Governor Tryon and the British ships in the harbor 
were in constant communication with the Tories in the 
city. To guard against these dangers, external and inter- 
nal, Washington had but eight thousand effective men. 
General Greene was sent with one division to fortify what 
is now Brooklyn Heights, on Long Island, as they com- 
manded New York. He was also to make himself familiar 
with the surrounding country. Urged by the commander- 
in-chief, the committee of safety were induced to prohibit 
all intercourse with Governor Tryon. Any such inter- 
course, if discovered, was to be severely j^unished. But 
Tryon, aided by spies and agents, continued his efforts in 
the king's cause. A conspiracy, to which he had insti- 
gated the Tories, was fortunately discovered. Some of 
these may have been true loyalists, but there were othere 
basely won by the promise of reward. In low taverns and 
drinking-saloons the patriot soldiers were tampered with. 
The mayor of the city was arrested, as well as some of 
Washington's body-guard, charged with being concerned 
in the plot. One of the guard, Thomas Hickey, a deserter 
from the British army, was hanged, " for mutiny, sedition, 
and treachery." This example alarmed the Tories, and 

June we hear of no more plots. 
28. 

For the first time Washington learned of the measures 

M^y of the British Parliament. The hired Hessian and Ger- 
17. 

man troops were landing in Canada. New apprehensions 

were awakened for the army in that province. Great 

efforts were made to reinforce it ; regiments were sent 

under Sullivan and Thompson. Early in the spring Gen- 



AMERICAN TROOPS DRIVEN OUT OF CANADA. 359 

eral Wooster had joined Arnold, and taken the command chap. 
at Quebec. But it was not easy for Arnold to act m con- 



cert ^vith a superior officer ; as usual, he had difficulty 1776. 
with Wooster, and retired to Montreal. Soon after Woos- 
ter was recalled, and Thomas, now a major-general, was 
appointed to the northern army. General Carleton was 
strongly reinforced, and Thomas was compelled to make 
a hasty retreat from before Quebec — so hasty, that the 
baggage, the artillery, and even the sick were left behind. 
The noble humanity of Carleton deserves to be recorded. 
He sought out the sick, many of whom had hid from him 
in terror, conveyed them to the general hospitals, and prom- 
ised that on their recovery they should be permitted to 
return home. Thomas hastened to the Sorel, where, on June. 
the second of June, he died of the small-pox, which pre- 
vailed greatly in the army. Though the army once more 
changed its commander, there was no change in its pros- 
pects ; they continued to be of the gloomiest character. 
Carleton came pressing on with a force of thirteen thou- 
sand men. General Thompson, with a portion of the 
American troops, was defeated at Three Eivers ; and he, 
with his officers and many of his men, were taken prison- 
ers. Those who escaped joined Sullivan on the Sorel. 

Arnold had been equally unfortunate at Montreal. He 
stationed a detachment of four hundred men at a point 
called The Cedars, about forty miles above that place, in 
order to intercept the stores sent to the enemy. As this 
post was threatened with an attack, it was shamefully 
surrendered by Colonel Butterworth, without a blow. A 
reinforcement sent to their aid was also taken prisoners. 
Arnold now joined Sullivan. A council of war decided 
upon a retreat, and the wreck of the army passed out of 
Canada, followed by a strong British force. 

The army was in a deplorable condition when it reached 
Crown Point. To use the words of John Adams, it was 
" defeated, discontented, dispirited, diseased, no clothes, 



360 HISTOKY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, beds, blankets, nor medicines ; no victuals but salt pork 

'. and flour." Thus ended this invasion, famous for its 

1776. daring exploits and numerous disasters. 

Congress approved of Sullivan's prudent retreat ; they 
did not, however, confirm him in the authority that had 
devolved upon him on the death of General Thomas. 
They appointed Major-general Gates to the command, 
and awarded Sullivan a vote of thanks — an honor as un- 
satisfactory to him as it was empty in itself Sullivan 
was deeply wounded, as was General Schuyler, for Gates 
claimed the command, not only of the forces on Lake 
Champlain, but of the whole northern army. 

Horatio Gates, like Lee, was of foreign birth ; like 
him, lie was a disappointed man. Of his very early life 
little is known. He served in America under Braddock, 
in the West Indies under Monckton ; but as he did not 
receive from his native England the honors which he 
thought his due, he sold his commission in the British 
army, and retired to Virginia, where he renewed his ac- 
quaintance with Washington, and with his former asso- 
ciate. General Lee. Gates was ambitious, and the revo- 
lution opened a path to distinction. As an office-seeker 
he had, it is said, learned to " flatter and accommodate 
himself to the humors of others." He could be " the boon 
companion of gentlemen, and ' hail fellow well met ' with 
the vulgar." He ingratiated himself with the New Eng- 
landers, with whom, for some reason, Schuyler was un- 
popular. Through their influence, it is thought, Gates 
obtained what he aimed at — promotion. The enemies of 
Schuyler advanced serious charges against him ; attribu- 
ted to him the failure of the Canada expedition, and even 
hinted at treason. There is an instinct common to noble 
minds by which they discern truth in others. Washington 
never doubted the integrity of Schuyler, nor did Congress 
sustain Gates in his claim to supersede him. The appoint- 



BRITISH FLEET BEFOEE FORT MOULTRIE. 361 

ment of the latter, they said, referred only to the forces ^^|^ 

while in Canada ; elsewhere he was subordinate to Schuy- 

ler. The difficulty was passed over, as the result of a 1776. 
mistake, and the rival commanders assumed the appear- 
ance of satisfaction. 

We now return to Charleston, where we left both par- 
ties preparing for a contest. On the fate of Sullivan's 
Island, the key to the harbor, the result seemed to depend. 
One party was making ready to attack, the other to de- 
fend it. On the south-west point of this island was a fort 
commanded by Colonel William Moultrie. Fort Moultrie 
was constructed of logs of palmetto, a wood soft and 
spongy ; cannon-baUs could not splinter it. Lee, not 
familiar with the palmetto, thought it madness to attempt 
to defend so fragile a fort ; he contemptuously styled it 
the " Slaughter-pen." This important post was threat- 
ened by sea and land. Before it lay the British fleet 
under Sir Peter Parker. Sir Henry Clinton, with two 
thousand men, had taken possession of Long Island, wliich 
lay to the east of Sullivan's Island, and was separated 
from it only by a narrow creek. Here he was erecting 
batteries to cover his passage across the creek, to assault 
the fort when the fire of the ships should make a breach. 
To oppose him the Americans stationed a force under 
Colonel Thompson on the opposite side of the creek. Lee 
took his position on a point of the mainland north of the 
island, where he stood ready, at any moment, to aid either 
Thompson or Moultrie. 

The strength of the fort was now to be tested. On 
the twenty-eighth of June the formidable fleet of Parker 
advanced and commenced a " most furious fire," which 
was returned ^vith great spirit. The firing had but little 
effect upon the low wooden fort, while the ships of the 
enemy were almost torn in pieces. In the midst of the 
terrific roar of artilleiy the Americans stood bravely to 



June 
28. 



362 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

^HAP. their guns ; some of them remained at their posts even 
after they had lost a limb. For ten hours the battle 



1T76. raged without intermission. Then Sir Peter drew off his 
ships. Among the slain was Lord Campbell, ex-governor 
of the province, who fought as a volunteer on board the 
admiral's ship. 

Sir Henry Clinton made repeated attempts to reach 
Sullivan's Island, but was as often foiled by the batteries 
of Thompson. Several of the ships ran aground ; one, 
the Acteon, was set on fire with her guns loaded and colors 
flying, and then abandoned. The Americans, determined 
to secure a trophy, boarded the burning vessel, fired her 
guns at the retreating enemy, took possession of her colors, 
loaded three boats with stores, and departed in safety, 
before she blew up. Among the many heroic incidents 
connected with this battle, one is related of Sergeant Jas- 
per. The flag-staff was cut by a ball, and the flag fell 
outside the fort. Jasper immediately leaped down, and, 
amid the " iron hail," picked up the flag, tied it to a pole, 
deliberately placed it on the parapet, and then returned 
to his companions at the guns. Governor Eutledge appre- 
ciated the heroic deed ; a few days after he presented his 
own sword to Jasper, and offered him a lieutenant's com- 
mission. He accepted the sword, but modestly declined pro- 
motion, on the ground that he could neither read nor write. 

June O'l ^^6 ^^^J ^^J ^^^^ this battle took place at the 

28. South, a British fleet of forty vessels entered the harbor 
of New York. On board was General Howe, and with 
him the late garrison of Boston. Since the evacuation of 
that place he had been at Halifax awaiting the arrival of 
his brother. Admiral Howe. He landed his forces on 
Staten Island, where he was received with demonstrations 
of joy by the Tories. Clouds of deeper darkness were gath- 
ering around New York. The Admiral with more forces 
might be expected at any moment ; the crisis so long 
dreaded was at hand. The American soldiers were ordered 



I 



A CRISIS AT HAND. 363 

to be each, day at their alarm posts, and to he in readiness ™^P- 

for instant action. Orders to the same effect were sent '_ 

up the river. Kumors of disaffection in that quarter 1776. 
added the fear of treachery to the general alarm. Such 
was the state of things ; — the northern army defeated and 
broken, the fleet of Sir Heniy Clinton on its way from the 
South, Admiral Howe on his way from England, the har- 
bor of New York fiUed with the enemy's ships, — when an 
event took place, most important in American history. 
The colonies declared themselves independent of all foreign 
authority, and took their place among the nations of the 
earth. 



CHAPTEK XXX. 

WAR OP THE REVOLUTION-CONTINUED. 

The Question of Indepentlcnce ; Influences in liwor of. — The Tories. — 
" Common Sense." — The Declaration ; its Reception by the People and 
Army. — Arrival of Admiral Howe. — His Overtures for Reconciliation. — 
The American Army ; its Composition. — Sectional Jealousies. — The 
Forts on the Hudson. — The Clintons. — Battle of Long Island. — The 
Masterly Retreat. — Incidents. — Camp on Harlem Heights. — Howe con- 
fers with a Committee of Congress. — Nathan Hale. — The British at 
Kipp's Bay. — New York evacuated. Conflict at White Plains. — The 
Retreat across New Jersey. — Waywardness of Lee. 

CHAP. The alienation between the colonies and the mother coun- 

try began at the close of the French war. It was not the 

177C. result of any one cause, but of many ; the change of feel- 
ing was not instantaneous, but gradual. As the struggle 
took a more decided form, many, who were determined in 
their resistance to oppression, were unwilling to cast off 
their allegiance to the land to wliich their fathers still 
gave the endearing name of " home." There were, how- 
ever, among the true Sons of Liberty a few who had seen 
the end from the beginning. Such men as Samuel Adams 
and Patrick Henry foresaw the haughty obstinacy of the 
British ministry, and foretold the result. " Independent 
we are and independent we will be," said Adams ; and 
Henry exclaimed, in the Virginia Assembly : " We must 
fight ! An appeal to arms and the God of Hosts is all 
that is left us ! " 

What had long been felt by the few, now flashed upon 



THE QUESTION OF INDEPENDENCE. 365 

the minds of the many, that they could never enjoy their ^,^^- 

rights hut as a self-governing nation. Would the op- '_ 

pressions of the home government justify separation, which 1776. 
■would involve all the horrors of a protracted and doubtftil 
war ? This question became the subject of discussion in 
the Provincial Assemblies, and among the people them- 
selves. 

It was not arbitrary and unjust laws alone, nor the 
refusal of political rights, that had estranged the American 
people. Keligious views had their influence in moulding 
public sentiment in favor of independence. Long-con- 
tinued and persistent efforts to establish the Episcopal 
church in New England, had roused the latent hostility 
of the Congregationalists — they would not submit to Eng- 
lish control in matters of religion. The Presbyterians of 
the middle and southern colonies, derived, as they were, 
from the dissenting Scottish church, had a traditionaiy 
feeling of opposition to the same influence. Both pastors 
and people were stanch Whigs, and went hand in hand 
with the ministers and people of New England. Even in 
Virginia, where the Episcopal church was established by 
law, and where the majority of the people were its advo- 
cates, the attempt to place over them a bishop was de- 
nounced by the House of Burgesses as a " pernicious pro- 
ject." Though strenuous churchmen, they were jealous 
of external influences, and repudiated the control of the 
mother church. On the contrary, the Episcopal clergy, 
great numbers of whom were Englishmen by birth, from 
their associations were inclined to favor the royal author- 
ity. Nor should we judge them harshly ; they acted in 
accordance with their views of the intimate connection of 
church and state. These views influenced the members 
of that church more in the northern than in the southern 
colonies, and great numbers of them faithfully adhered to 
the " Lord's anointed," as they termed the king. 

The peace-loving Quakers, numerous in Pennsylvania, 



366 HISTOKT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

pHAP. New Jersey, and Delaware, opposed war as wrong in itself. 

The Moravians held similar views. These grieved over 

1776. the violation of their rights, yet they hoped by pacific 
measures to obtain justice. 

There were others who, though not opposed to war, 
believed it to be wrong to rise in opjjosition to the rule of 
the mother country. There were also the timid, who 
deemed it madness to resist a power so colossal. There 
were the low and grovelling, who sought only an opportu- 
nity to plunder ; the time-serving and the avaricious, who, 
for the gain they might acquire as contractors for the 
British army, or by furnishing provisions for prisoners, 
joined the enemies of their country. 

The evacuation of Boston strengthened the already 
strong feeling in favor of independence so prevalent in 
New England. In the South, the recent risings of the 
Tories in North Carolina, the ravages of Dunmore in Vir- 
ginia, and the attack upon Charleston, served still more 
to alienate the affections of the people ; while their suc- 
cess in repelling the invasion gave them assurance. For 
many reasons they wished to be independent. Then they 
could form treaties with other nations, and the brand of 
rebel, so repugnant to an honorable mind, would be re- 
moved. In truth, Congress had already taken the ground 
of an independent government by offering free trade to 
other nations, in all merchandise except that of British 
manufacture, and slaves, — the latter traffic they had pro- 
hibited some months before. 

About the first of the year, a pamphlet was issued in 
Philadelphia, under the title of " Common Sense," which 
had a great influence upon the public mind. Its author, 
Thomas Paine, an Englishman, had been in the country 
but a few months. In a style adapted to convince the 
popular mind, he exposed the folly of delaying any longer 
a formal separation from the mother country. The pam- 
phlet had a very great circulation, and a proportionate 



THE COMMITTEE. 



367 



influence in deciding the timid and wavering in favor of chap. 
independence. 



1776. 



On the seventh of June, Kichaid Henry Lee intro- 
duced a resolution into Congress, declaring, " That the 
United Colonies are and ought to be free and independent 
States, and that their political connection with Great 
Britain is and ought to he dissolved." Upon this resolution 
sprang up an animated discussion. It was opposed, prin- 
cipally, on the ground that it was premature. Some of 
the best and strongest advocates of colonial rights spoke 
and voted against the motion, which passed only by a 
bare majority of seven States to six. Some of the dele- 
gates had not received instructions from their constituents 
on the subject, and others were instructed to vote against 
it. Its consideration was prudently deferred until there 
was a prospect of greater unanimity. Accordingly on the 
eleventh a committee, consisting of Doctor Franklin, John 
Adams, Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia, Koger Sherman, 
of Connecticut, and Kobert R. Livingston, of New York, 
was appointed to prepare a Declaration. To give oppor- 
tunity for union of opinion, the consideration of the sub- 
ject was postponed to the first of July. At the same time 
two other committees were appointed ; one to draw up a 
plan for uniting all the colonies, the other to devise meas- 
ures to form foreign alliances. 

On the twenty-eighth the committee reported the dec- June. 
laration to the house. It was drawn by Jefferson, and 
contained a gracefidly written summary of the sentiments 
of the people and Congress. After a few verbal altera- 
tions suggested by Adams and Franklin, it was approved 
by the committee. The house, however, struck out a few 
passages. One of these reflected severely upon the British 
government ; another denounced the slave-trade ; another 
censured the king for his attempts to prevent, by the re- 
fusal of his signature^ the enactment of laws designed to 



368 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP- prohibit that traffic. They were unwilling to offend the 

fiiends of the colonies in Britain, and feared lest these 

1V76. strong expressions might prevent the declaration from 
receiving a unanimous vote. The vote was taken by 
States ; the delegates were not unanimous, but there were 
a sufficient number to give the vote of aU the colonies, 
New York alone excepted, which was given in a few days. 
The announcement was delayed till the declaration should 
receive a few amendments, and then, on July the fourth, 
4. it was formally adopted, and the thirteen colonies became 
The Thirteen United States of America. 

The bell of the State House, in which Congress held 
its sessions, has upon it the inscription : " Proclaim lib- 
erty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants 
thereof" — words taken from the Bible. Congress sat with 
closed doors, but it was known far and wide, that the 
subject of independence was under discussion. Crowds 
assembled outside the Hall, and waited anxiously to 
learn the result. At mid-day the appointed signal was 
given. The beU was struck, and to its tones responded 
the joyous shouts of midtitudes. The friends of liberty 
and independence breathed more freely ; the declara- 
tion was made ; the hesitancy of indecision was over, 
and the spirit of determination arose. It was published ; 
it was read to the army ; the soldiers received it with 
shouts of exultation and pledges to defend its prin- 
ciples ; it was announced in the papers ; from the pulpits, 
and everywhere the Whigs hailed it with joy. Hopes of 
reconciliation, which had so much paralyzed measures of 
defence, were at an end ; there was now no neutral ground. 
The timid though honest friends of their country, who had 
so long hesitated, generally sided with liberty. The Tories 
were in a sad condition ; the great majority of them were 
wealthy, and had hoped that the difficulties would yet be 
arranged. Laws j)assed by the new State authorities had 
rendered them liable to fines and imprisonments, and theii 



ARRIVAL OF ADMIRAL HOWE — HIS CIRCULAR. 369 

property to confiscation. They endured many outrages, "^^^P- 

and were subjected to " tarrings and featherings " innu- 

merahle, by self-constituted vigilance committees. Con- 1770. 
gross, to prevent these outrages, gave the supervision of 
Tories to committees of inspection. The most obnoxious 
were fain to emigrate, and the committee admonished or 
restrained the others within certain limits. 

The soldiers in New York manifested their zeal by 
taking a leaden statue of King George, which stood in the 
Bowling Green, and running it into bullets, to be used in 
the cause of independence. To impress upon their minds 
a sense of the dignity of their iDOsition, as well as to re- 
prove this irregularity, Washington, in the orders, the fol- 
lowing day, referred to the subject. " The general hopes 
and trusts," said he, " that every officer and soldier will 
endeavor so to live and act, as becomes a Christian soldier 
defending the dearest rights and liberties of his country." 

A few days after the public Declaration of Independ- 
ence, the booming of cannon from the British vessels in 
the harbor of New York announced the arrival of Admiral 
Howe. To his brother and himself had been committed 
the general control of American affairs. 

Before he proceeded to hostilities, the admiral ad- 
dressed a circular to the i3eople ; he oifered them pardon 
if they would cease to be rebels, lay down their arms, and 
trust the king's mercy. As soon as this circular reached 
Congress, that body caused it to be pubKshed in all the 
newspapers, that the people might see that Britain would 
grant nothing, and accept no concession short of absolute 
submission. " They must fight or be slaves." 

Howe also attempted to open a correspondence with 
Washington. As Parhament refused to acknowledge 
titles conferred by Congress, his letters were addressed, 
first to Mr. George Washington, then to George Wash- 
ington, Esquire, &c., &c., hoping that the &c.'s would 
24 



370 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, remove the difficulty ; but the Commander-in-chief, justly 

tenacious of the dignity of his office, and of the honor of 

1776. his country, politely hut firmly refused to receive them. 
The messenger exj)ressed his regret that the correspond- 
ence could not be opened. His lordship, he said, wished 
for peace ; he was vested with great powers. Washington 
replied that he understood Lord Howe had power to grant 
pardons ; the Americans had defended their rights ; they 
had committed no crime, and needed no jjardon. 

The Admiral was disappointed, he really desired peace. 
The reception he had met with had encoiiraged his hopes ; 
he had received loyal addresses from the Tories of New 
Jersey, Long and Staten Islands ; Governor Tryon had 
assured him there were many others, secret friends of 
England, who might be induced to join him. But, to 
his surprise, his circular, from which he had hoped much, 
produced little or no efiect. He was now convinced that 
nothing could be accomplished except by force of arms. 
MeanwhUe his army, now on Staten Island, received 
many accessions ; Sir Henry Clinton had arrived, and 
more Hessian troops had landed. His whole force was 
about thirty-five thousand. 

As it had become more and more evident that New 
York was to be the theatre of the war, further prepara- 
tions had been made to defend the city and neighborhood. 
Pennsylvania had sent four continental regiments, com- 
manded respectively by Colonels St. Clair, Shee, Anthony 
Wayne, and Magaw ; three provincial battalions, under 
Colonels Miles, Cadwallader, and Atlee, and rifle regi- 
ments, under Colonels Hand and Allen. These were all 
commanded by Brigadier-general Mifflin, of that State. 

Virginia sent troops imder Major Leitch, and from 

Maryland came the brave company known as Smallwood's 

regiment, who afterward distinguished themselves in many 

■ conflicts, while from Delaware came a regiment under 

Colonel Hazlet. In addition to these, Pennsylvania, 



JEALOUSIES AMONG THE TROOPS. 3I5EJ 

Maryland, and Delaware, furnished troops to form what *^^^- 

was called " a flying camp," a sort of reserve, stationed 

in New Jersey, in a favorable position, and ready to act 1776. 
in emergencies. This was under Brigadier-general Mercer. 

In the troops thus drawn together from different parts 
of the country, there were marked differences in appear- 
ance and discipline. The New England officers were most 
of them farmers and mechanics — brave, honorable, but 
plain men. Their soldiers were men of the same stamp ; 
in many cases their intimates and associates in private 
life. Their intercourse with each other was less formal 
than was consistent with strict military discipline. They 
met not as mere soldiers, but as a band of brethren, united 
in a cause in which each had a personal interest. With 
the portion of the army drawn from the other States, the 
case was different ; with them, there was a marked dis- 
tinction between the officers and soldiers. The officers were 
brave and honorable also, but city bred — " gentlemen," 
as they called themselves — and from wealthy families, 
while the " common soldiers, for the most part, were a 
very inferior set." Sectional jealousies arose. The Mary- 
landers, in " scarlet and buff," looked down upon the 
rustic soldiery in "homespun," whUe the officers of the 
other ijrovinces were inclined to despise their associates 
from New England. These jealousies became so great an 
evil, that Washington strongly reprobated them in general 
orders. 

As the British were masters of the bay of New York, 
it was feared they would surround the American army in 
the city, and take ijossession of the Hudson, that great 
liighway to the interior. To prevent this. General Mifflin 
was sent with the Pennsylvania troops to guard the forts 
at the north end of the island. One of these stood just 
below, the other just above Kingsbridge, the only avenue 
to the mainland ; they were known as Forts Washington 
and Independence. On the west side of the Hudson, 



372 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

<^IAP. nearly opposite Fort Washington, stood Fort Lee. Near 
the entrance to the Higlilands, and just opposite the well- 



1776. known promontory of Antliony's Nose, was Fort Mont- 
gomery. Six miles higher up the river was Fort Consti- 
tution. 

The posts last named were under the command of 
Colonel James Clinton. His brother George commanded 
the militia of Ulster and Orange counties. These brothers 
were of Irish descent, natives of New York, and their 
ancestors were identified with the early settlements on 
the Hudson. They had been soldiers from their youth — 
like many of the Kevolutionary officers — they had been 
trained in the French war, in which one of them had 
served as a captain at twenty, and the other as a lieuten- 
ant at seventeen years of age. The elder, James, had 
also served under Montgomery at the capture of Montreal, 
while George had been active in the service of his country 
as a member of the New York Legislature, and as a dele- 
gate to the Continental Congress. 

In spite of obstructions thrown across the channel, two 
British vessels, the Phoenix and the Kose, passed up the 
Hudson. The latter was commanded by the notorious 
Captain Wallace, who had pillaged the shores of Rhode 
Island. They passed the forts unharmed, and gallantly 
returned the fire from Fort Washington. As they boldly 
pushed their way up the river, their appearance created 
great alarm. Signal guns were heard from the forts, and 
July false rumors increased the general excitement. The sturdy 
yeomanry left their harvests uncut in their fields, and has- 
tened to join the forces under Clinton to defend the passes 
of the Highlands. These fears were in a great measure 
groimdless. The vessels quietly anchored here and there, 
while their boats took soundings ; but the event proved the 
inefficiency of the defences at the mouth of the Hudson. 

The Americans, from the Jersey shore and the city, 



22. 



THE BKITISH LAND ON LONG ISLAND. 3f3 

continued to watch, with intense interest, the movements chap. 

of the enemy on Staten Island. A spy reported that they '_ 

were ahout to land on Long Island, with twenty thousand 1776. 
men, and take possession of the Heights, which com- 
manded New York ; he had heard the orders read, and 
the conversation of the oiScers in the camp. The next An 
day the roar of artillery was heard from Long Island, and 
soon the news reached the city that the enemy had landed 
at Gravesend Bay. 

General Greene had thrown up a line of intrenchments 
and redoubts across the neck of the peninsula upon which 
stood the village of Brooklyn. He had made himself ac- 
quainted with the ground in the neighborhood, and nearly 
completed his plans for defence, when he was suddenly 
taken ill with a raging fever. He was still unable to be 
at his post, and Sullivan held the temporary command. 

Between the American intrenchments and Gravesend 
Bay lay a range of thickly-wooded hills, that stretched 
across the island from south-west to north-east. Over 
and around these hills were three roads : one along the 
shore passed around their south-western base ; another 
crossed over their centre toward Flatbush ; while a third, 
which was near the north-east extremity of the range, 
passed over them from the village of Bedford to Jamaica. 

Nine thousand of the British had already landed at 
Gravesend, imder the command of Sir Henry Clinton and 
his associates, the Earls of Cornwallis and Percy, and Gen- 
erals Grant and Erskine. Colonel Hand, who was sta- 
tioned there, retired on their approach to a position that 
commanded the central or Flatbush road. The British 
continued to land more forces secretly in the night time, 
but for several days nothing occurred, except skirmishing 
between the enemy and the troops at the outposts, along 
the wooded hills. 

At the first alarm, the Commander-in-chief had hast- 
ened to send to the aid of Sullivan a reinforcement of six 



24. 



374 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, battalions, — all he could well spare. He exhorted these 

soldiers to be cool, and not to fire too soon. They aj)- 

1776. peared in high spirits, though most of them were going 

into battle for the first time. 
Aug. On the twenty-fourth, "Washington, somewhat relieved 

from his apprehensions with regard to the city, crossed 
over to Brooklyn to inspect the lines. He was pained to 
observe a great want of system among the officers, and of 
discipline among the soldiers. A strong redoubt had been 
thrown up at the central pass, but the plans for defence 
were imperfect, and afiairs in much confusion. 

On his return, he appointed General Putnam to the 
command, with orders to remedy these evils. The " brave 
old man " hastened with joy to the post of danger. 

From day to day the number of tents on Staten Island 
became gradually less, and one by one ships dropped 
silently down to the narrows. Washington became con- 
vinced that the British designed to attack the lines at 
Brooklyn. He sent over further reinforcements, among 
wliich was Haslet's Delaware regiment— troops whose sol- 
dierly bearing and discipline had won his special regard. 

He proceeded in person to aid Putnam with his coun- 
sel. On the evening of the twenty-sixth he returned to 
New York, perplexed and depressed, for a dark cloud of 
uncertainty and danger hung over the future. 

His fears were soon realized. On that very evening 
the British proceeded to carry out their plan of attack. 
By this plan. Sir Henry Clinton was to march along by- 
paths across to the eastern or Jamaica road, to seize the 
pass in the Bedford hills, thence proceed onward, and turn 
the left flank of the Americans ; General Grant was to 
pass along the shore-road, and attack them on the right, 
while General De Heister, with his Hessians, was to 
threaten the central pass, where Colonel Hand was sta- 
tioned with his riflemen. 

At nine o'clock, Sir Henry, guided by a Long Island 



I 



BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND. 375 

Tory, commenced his march toward the eastern road ; char 

XXX 

about midnight, Colonel Grant's division moved in an op- 1 

posite direction, along the western or shore-road. Colonel 1776. 
Atlee, who was stationed there with a small company of 
militia, was driven back from point to point. News of 
Grant's approach soon reached General Putnam. Lord 
Stirhng, with Smallwood's and Haslet's regiments, were 
sent to the relief of Colonel Atlee. About daylight they 
came w]) witli him, and soon the front of the approaching 
enemy appeared in view. 

Presently the redoubt at the central pass was cannon- 
aded from Flatbush. This firing attracted the attention 
of Sullivan, who went to the relief of Colonel Hand. 

Thus the object of the British was in part accom- 
plished. The attention of the Americans was diverted, 
their troops were scattered beyond the lines ; silently and 
rapidly the forces of Clinton were moving on to cut off 27.' 
their return. He had found the eastern pass unguarded, 
and continued his march undiscovered, and now signal- 
guns announced that he was close upon the American 
lines. The Hessians advanced at once upon the redoubt. 
Colonel Grant pushed on. Sullivan and Stirling both 
perceived their danger, and endeavored to retreat, but in 
vain. The enemy had gained their rear ; they were com- 
pletely entrapped and hemmed in. It is true, a portion 
of Stirling's troops escaped by fording a creek ; the re- 
mainder, most of whom were of Smallwood's regiment, ' 
took a brave but desperate stand. A scene of carnage 
ensued ; more than two hundred and fifty of them were 
slain within sight of the lines. Some of these were most 
cruelly and wantonly bayoneted by the merciless Hessians. 
At length Stirling sought De Heister and surrendered. 
Sullivan's forces were driven back and forth by the two 
divisions of the enemy, and treated in a like barbarous 
manner ; some were taken prisoners, among whom was 
Sullivan himself ; others fought their way back to the 



376 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, lines. Some portion of this conflict took place amid the 

XXX. 

_!__ hills now embraced in the beautiful cemeteiy of Green- 
1776. wood. 

Washington reached the spot just in time to witness 
the catastrophe. As from the lines he saw his brave 
troops surrounded and cruelly slaughtered — toirched to 
the heart with deep and humane sorrow, he wrung his 
hands and exclaimed : " Good God ! what brave fellows 
I must lose this day ! " 

The loss of the Americans in this battle was very se- 
vere ; of the five thousand engaged, nearly two thousand 
were slain or taken j^risoners, while out of sixteen thou- 
sand the British lost but about four hundred. They made 
no assault on the American lines, but encamped directly 
in front of them, and prepared to carry them by regular 
api^roaches. 

Although reinforced the next day, by Mifilin's and 
Glover's regiments, the Americans had still a very inferior 
force. On the morning of the twenty-ninth, as General 
MiiSin, with Adjutant-general Reed and Colonel Grayson, 
was inspecting the outposts at Eed Hook, a light breeze, 
that dispersed the fog for a moment, revealed to them the 
enemy's fleet. They were justly alarmed ; the unusual 
stir among the boats convinced them that some great 
movement was on foot. It was probable the enemy in- 
tended to pass up the bay and surround them. They hast- 
ened to Washington, who summoned a council of war, 
and it was decided that the army should that night be 
secretly withdrawn from the island. It was a hazardous 
enterprise, and much was to be done ; boats weie to be 
collected, and preparations for the removal of nine thou- 
sand men were to be made, in the face of the enemy, rap- 
idly, and yet so silently and cautiously, as not to awaken 
the slightest suspicion. It was already noon, but the or- 
ders were issued, and all the boats around Manhattan 
Island were impressed and in readiness at eight o'clock 



THE RETEEAT INCIDENTS. 377 

that evening. And at the silent midnight hour the regi- chap 

ments, one by one, began to march to the ferry, and in 

boats manned by Glover's regiment, most of whom were 1770. 
Marblehead fishermen, they were borne to the city. By 
eight o'clock the entire army, with their military stores, 
cattle, horses, and carts, were safely landed. 

Several incidents occurred, which have a peculiar in- 
terest as connected with this famous retreat. General 
MifHin, who was stationed nearest to the enemy's lines, 
was to remain at his post until the others had embarked. 
Colonel Scammell, who was sent to hasten forward a par- 
ticular regiment, mistook his orders, and sent on MiiHin 
with his whole covering party ; and great was the conster- 
nation of the Commander-in-chief when they joined the 
others at the ferry. " This is a dreadful mistake, General 
Mifflin," said he, " and unless the troops can regain the 
lines before their absence is discovered by the enemy, the 
most disastrous consequences are to be apprehended." 
They returned to their post with all expedition. " This 
was a trying business to young soldiers," says one of their 
number, " it was, nevertheless, strictly complied with, and 
we remained not less than an hour in the lines before we 
received the second order to abandon them." ' 

A story is told of a woman, wife of a suspected Tory, 
who lived near the ferry. She sent her negro servant to 
the British with news that the Americans were retreating. 
He reached the Hessian outposts in safety, but they did 
not understand his language, and detained him a close 
prisoner till morning. Then an English officer, who exam- 
ined him, learned the truth, but it was too late. The 
British did not reach the ferry tiU the last boat was be- 
yond musket shot. It was an August morning ; but for Aug. 
a dense fog, the boats which left after daylight must have 
been discovered. The safe retreat of the patriot army 

' Graydon's Memoirs. 



378 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 

^^^' was by many attributed to a peculiar Providence. It was 

a trust in this Providence, a calm assurance of ultimate 

1776. success under its guiding care, that strengthened the 
hearts of the patriots in their darkest hour of trial. 

A few days after this retreat, Admiral Howe, who 
hoped the Americans would now accept peace on his 
terms, sent General Sidlivan on parole with a letter to 
Congress. He invited them to send, in an informal man- 
ner, a committee to confer with him on some measures of 
reconciliation. He would receive them as private gentle- 
men, as the ministry would not acknowledge the legal ex- 
istence of Congress. Accordingly, John Adams, Doctor 
Franklin, and Edward Kutledge, held a conference with 
him at a house on Staten Island, opposite Amboy. 

Doctor Franklin and Lord Howe had often conversed 
together in England on the present difficulties. His lord- 
ship made known the terms on which peace could be ob- 
tained. These terms were unconditional submission. When 
told that the Congress and people would treat on no other 
basis than that " of a free and independent nation," ho 
expressed regret, that he should be compelled to dis- 
tress the Americans. Doctor Franklin reciprocated his 
good will, but quietly remarked, " The Americans will 
endeavor to lessen the pain you may feel, by taking good 
care of themselves." Thus ended the much talked-of in- 
terview. The result was good. The people were strength- 
ened in the belief that England had no terms to offer, 
which would lead them to regret the course they had 
adopted. 

The British, now in possession of Long Island, ex- 
tended their lines along the East River, and stationed in 
them a large number of Hessian troops, of whom reinforce- 
ments had come within a few days. The defeat at Brook- 
lyn had a very disheartening effect on the minds of the 
militia, great numbers of whom deserted, and soon Wash- 



DISPOSITION OF THE TROOPS NATHAN HALE. 379 

ington's army was less than twenty thousand men, and on <<g^- 
many of these little dependence conld be placed. The 



question soon arose, Should New York be defended to the 1776. 
last, or should it be evacuated ? Some proposed to burn 
it to the ground, as " two-thirds of the property belonged 
to Tories," rather than it should furnish comfortable win- 
ter-quarters for the enemy. Congress decided that the 
city should not be burned. 

The sick and wounded, in the meanwhile, were trans- 
ferred to Orange, in New Jersey, and most of the military 
stores were removed to Dobbs' Ferry, that the garrison 
might be unencumbered should they be obliged to make a 
hasty retreat. It was decided by a council of war that 
Putnam, with five thousand troops, should remain to gar- 
rison New York, while General Heath, with the main body, 
was to fortify the heights in the neighborhood of Kings- 
bridge, where, presently, Washington transferred his head- 
quarters. 

Washington was anxious to learn the designs of the ene- 
my on Long Island. At the suggestion of Colonel Knowl- 
ton, Nathan Hale volunteered to go on the perilous errand. 
Hale was a native of Connecticut, a graduate of Yale Col- 
lege, had thoughts of studying for the ministry, and at the 
commencement of the war was a teacher of youth. After 
the battle of Lexington, he hastened to Boston to join the 
army, in which he served as a lieutenant. On one occa- 
sion, to induce his men to continue their term of enlist- 
ment, he offered them his own pay. Soon after he received 
from Congress the commission of captain. 

He passed to the island, obtained the knowledge de- 
sired, notes of which he took in Latin. As he was return- 
ing he fell in with a party of the enemy, was recognized 
by a Toiy relative, seized and taken to Howe's head- 
quarters, and, without much ceremony, was ordered to be 
executed the next morning. 

The provost-marshal, named Cunningham, treated 



380 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

f|H^P- him with great brutality, denied him a Bible, tore up the 
letter he had written to his mother, giving as a reason, 



1776. " that the rebels should never know they had a man who 
could die with such firmness." The last words of Hale 
were : " I only regret that I have but one life to lose for 
my country." 

The entire British fleet was within cannon-shot of the 
city, and some of their vessels had jjassed up the Hudson 
and East rivers. They had landed troops on the islands 
at the mouth of Harlem river, and there erected a bat- 
tery. Soon British and Hessians, under Clinton and Colo- 
nel Donop, crossed over from the camp on Long Island 
to Kipp's Bay, three miles above the city. Washington 
heard the cannonading in that quarter, and, as he was on 
the way to learn the cause, met the militia, who, on the 
first apjproach of the enemy had fled in sad confusion, fol- 
lowed by two brigades of Connecticut troops, who that 
very morning had been sent to support them. He strove 
to rally them, but in vain ; neither entreaties nor com- 
mands had any eifect upon these panic-stricken soldiers. 
Mortified and indignant at their cowardice, he dashed his 
hat upon the ground, and exclaimed : " Are these the 
men with whom I am to defend America ? " The enemy 
in pursuit were now not more than eighty yards from him, 
but in his excitement he forgot his own safety, and had 

„ not an attendant seized the bridle of his horse and hurried 
15.' him from the field, he must have fallen into their hands. 
AVashington ordered General Heath to secure Harlem 
Heights, and sent an express order to Putnam to evacuate 
the city, and retire to those heights with all speed ; for he 
feared that the enemy would extend their lines across the 
island from Kipp's Bay, and cut oif his retreat. Fortu- 
nately the British did not pursue their advantage. Put- 
nam retreated along the west side of the island by the 
Bloomingdale road. His line, encumbered with women and 
children, was exposed to the fire of the ships lying in the 



A SUCCESSFUL SKIRMISH. 381 

Hudson. He ordered, encouraged, and aided, and by his ^^A;^- 

extraordinary exertions, it is said, saved iiis corps from 

entire destruction. However, liis heavy artillery and tliree 1776. 
hundred men fell into the hands of the enemy 

Now the British had possession of the city, and the 
main body of the Americans was encamped on the northern 
portion of the island, across which they threw a double 
row of lines, about four and a half mUes below Kings- 
bridge. Two miles above these Hnes, was Fort Washing- 
ton, and a few miles below them were the British Unes, 
extending also from river to river. 

On the sixteenth the enemy made an attack upon the Sept. 
American advanced posts, but were repulsed and driven 
off by Virginia and Connecticut troops, but their com- 
manders, Major Leitch, and the brave Colonel Knowlton, 
one of the heroes of Bunker Hill, both fell in this en- 
counter. The spirits of the soldiers, depressed by repeated 
defeats and disasters, were somewhat revived by this suc- 
cessful skirmish. 

The armies watched each other for some weeks. Many 
were sick in the American camp ; "it was impossible to 
find proper hospitals ; and they lay about in almost every 
barn, stable, shed, and even under the fences and bushee." 

Sir WUliam Howe now began to collect forces at 
Throg's Neck, a peninsula in the Sound about nine miles 
from the American camp. Tliis peninsula was separated 
from the mainland by a narrow creek and a marsh, which 
was overflowed at high tide. By means of the bridge and 
fords, Howe hoped to pass over to the mainland and gain 
the rear of the Americans, and cut off their communica- 
tion with New England, whence they received most of 
their supplies. His plans, though well laid, were defeated. 
General Heath was on the alert ; he was joined by Colonel 
WilKam Prescott, who commanded at Bunker Hill, and 
by Hand with his riflemen, and others ; every pass was 
guarded, and the planks of the bridge removed. Howe, 



382 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, witli his usual caution, waited six clays for reinforcements. 

By this time General Lee, now more a favorite than ever, 

1776. had returned from his successful campaign at the South, 
and Sullivan, Stirling, and Morgan had been restored to 
the army by exchange. While Howe thus delayed, it was 
decided, in a council of war, that every American jJost on 
New York island, excepting Fort Washington, should be 
abandoned. This plan was promptly executed. The 
army, in four divisions, commanded by Generals Lee, 
Heath, Sullivan, and Lincoln, withdrew across Kings- 
„ bridge, and gradually concentrated their forces in a forti- 
23. tied camp near the village of White Plains. 

Still hoping to gain their rear, Howe moved on toward 
New Kochelle, where he was reinforced by light-horse 
troops, and Hessians under General Kuyphausen, who 
had recently arrived from Europe. He advanced upon 
the camp. Scarcely had the Americans intrenched them- 
selves at White Plains, when a rumor of his approach 
reached them. On the twenty-eighth, as Washington, 
accompanied by his general officers, was reconnoitring the 
heights in the neighborhood, the alarm was given that the 
enemy had driven in the picket-guards, and were within 
the camp. When he reached headquarters he found the 
army ah-eady posted in order of battle. The enemy did 
not advance upon them ; they turned their attention to a 
height known as Chatterton's Hill, which lay a little south 
of the camp, and was separated from it by the river Bronx. 
This height was occupied by sixteen hundred men under 
General McDougall, and the attack was made at this 
point. After a feeble resistance, the militia fled, but 
Hazlet's and Smallwood's regiments, so famous on Long 
Island, made a brave stand, and repeatedly repulsed the 
enemy ; but, at length, overpowered by numbers, they 
retreated across the bridge to the camj). This battle of 



A NIGHT OF LABOK THREATENED DANGERS. 383 

White Plains was a sjiirited encounter, in wliicli each of f'HAP 
the ijarties lost about four hundred men. '_ 

The British took possession of the hill, and began to 1776. 
intrench themselves ; and now, for the third time, the 
" armies lay looking at each other ; " they were within 
long cannon-shot. 

Could the undisciplined, war-worn, and disheartened 
Americans hope to escape from a force so well equipped 
and so i)owerful ? That night was to them an anxious 
one. It was passed in severe labor ; they doubled their in- 
trenchments and threw up redoubts. Some of these were 
hastily constructed of stalks of corn, pulled up from a neigh- 
boring field, with the earth clinging to the roots. These 
piled with the roots outward, presented an appeai'ance so 
formidable, that Howe, deceived as to their strength, did 
not attack them, but ordered up reinforcements. 

Howe's cautious conduct of the war has been severely 
criticised, and various reasons have been assigned, but it 
has never been satisfactorily exjDlained ; whatever his 
reasons may have been, his delay at this time cost him 
another golden opportunity. Washington withdrew his 
army in the night-time to the heights of North Castle, a 
strong position, about five miles distant. His enemy had j^^^ 
again eluded him, and Howe retired with his forces to 4. 
Dobb's Ferry, on the Hudson. 

This movement awakened new fears ; — did he intend 
to pass down the river to Fort Washington, or to cross 
into New Jersey ? " He must attempt something," 
writes Washington, "on account of his reputation, for 
what has he done yet with his great army ? " 

To meet the threatened dangers a new disposition was 
made of the American forces. Lee, with a portion, was to 
remain at North Castle ; Putnam, with another, was to 
guard the west side of the Hudson ; Heath, the guardian 
of the passes of the Highlands, was to encamp at Pecks- 
kill ; while General Greene commanded at Fort Lee, and 



384 HISTOET OF THE UNITED STATES. 

pE^. Colonel Magaw, with the Pennsylvania troops, occupied 

Fort Washington. 

1776. With respect to maintaining Fort Washington, there 

was a diversity of opinion, as neither that fort nor the ob- 
structions across the channel had prevented the passage 
of vessels up the Hudson. Washington, with Lee, Eeed, 
and others, was in favor of withdrawing the troops at once. 
He addressed a letter to Greene, in which he advised this 
course, but left the matter to his discretion. Greene and 
Magaw, who were both on the spot, and knew the condi- 
tion of the fort, decided that it could be maintained, and 
made preparations accordingly. This was, as the result 
proved, an injudicious decision. The post was compara- 
tively useless ; it was accessible on three sides from the 
water ; the fort was very small, and would not contain 
more than a thousand men, the lines were very extensive, 
and the garrison insufficient to man them. 

Washington visited the posts along the river. When 
he arrived at Fort Lee,_he was greatly disajjpointed to find 
that the troops had not been withdrawn from Fort Wash- 
ington ; and, before he could make a personal examina- 
tion, the fort was invested. It was attacked on all sides. 
The garrison, after a brave resistance, which cost the ene- 
my four hundred men, was driven from the outer lines, 
and crowded into the fort, where they were unable to fight 
to advantage, and were exposed to the shells of the enemy. 
Further resistance was impossible, and Colonel Magaw 
surrendered all his troops, two thousand in number. Dur- 
ing this action, the troops of Cadwallader especially dis- 
tinguished themselves. Of the officers. Colonel Baxter, 
of Pennsylvania, fell while cheering on his men. 
-^g^■ From the New Jersey shore, the Commander-in-chief 

witnessed a portion of the battle, and again he saw some 
of his brave troops bayoneted by the merciless Hessians, 
and wept, it is said, " with the tenderness of a chUd." 
It was resolved to abandon Fort Lee, but before it 



THE HETREAT. 385 

was fully accomplished, Cornwallis, with a force six thou- f^^? 

sand strong, crossed the Hvidson to the foot of the rocky 

cliffs known as the Palisades. The force sent down from 1776. 
North Castle was encamped at Hackensack, which lay be- 
tween the river of that name and the Hudson, and Wash- 
ington saw at once that the object of the enemy was to 
form a hne across the country, and hem them in between 
the rivers. To avoid this he retreated, with all his forces, 
including the garrison of Fort Lee, to secure the bridge 
over the Hackensack, thence across the Passaic to the 
neighborhood of Newark. This retreat was made in such 
haste that nearly all the artillery was abandoned, the tents 
left standing, and the fires burning. That night the 
enemy found shelter in the tents of the deserted camp. 

From Newark, the army moved on across the Earitan 
to Brunswick, thence to Princeton, where they left twelve 
hundred men, under Lord Stirling, to check the enemy, 
while the main body proceeded to Trenton, and thence be- 
yond the Delaware. The enemy pressed so closely upon 
them, that the advance of Cornwallis entered Newark at 
one end, as their rear-guard passed out at the other, and 
often during this march, " the American rear-guard, em- 
ployed in pulling up bridges, was within sight and shot of 
the British pioneers, sent forward to rebuild them." 

Thus less than four thousand men — a mere shadow 
of an army — poorly clad, with a scant supply of blankets, 
without tents, and enfeebled for want of wholesome food, 
evaded, by an orderly retreat, a well appointed force that 
far outnumbered them, well fed, well clothed, well disci- 
plined, and flushed with victory. When the enemy reached 
the Delaware, they were unable to cross over, not a boat 
was to be found ; Washington had taken the precaution to 
have them all secured for a distance of seventy miles, and 
transferred to the west side. Thus ended this famous re- 
treat, remarkable for the manner in which it was con- 
ducted, and the circumstances under which it took place. 
25 



386 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

^\\x ComwalKs was anxious to procure boats and push on 

to Philadelphia, but Howe decided to wait till the river 

1776. should be frozen. Meanwhile, the Hessians were stationed 

along the eastern bank for some miles above and below 

Trenton. 

During his harassed march, Washington had sent re- 
peated and urgent orders to Lee to hasten to his aid with 
reinforcements. Notwithstanding the emergency, which 
he well knew, Lee lingered for two or three weeks on the 
east side of the Hudson, and when actually on the march, 
proceeded so slowly, that he did not reach Morristown 
until the eleventh of December. 

Lee had a high opinion of his own military abilities, 
and evidently desired an independent command. The 
deference which the Americans had paid to his judgment, 
and the importance they attached to his presence in the 
army, had flattered his natural self-conceit ; his success 
at the South, and the correctness of his views in relation 
to Fort Washington, had strengthened his influence over 
them, and now, in this time of depression and discourage- 
ment, he hoped by some brilliant exploit to retrieve the 
fortunes of the army, and gain more glory to himself In 
this mood he writes : "I am going into the Jerseys for 
the salvation of America." And again : "I am in hopes 
to reconquer, if I may so express myself, the Jerseys ; 
it was really in the hands of the enemy before my arri- 
val." While he pondered over these vain projects, ho dis- 
regarded the authority of the Commander-in-chief, and, 
to say the least, subjected him to cruel inconvenience. 
We have no reason to believe that Lee was imtrue to the 
cause he had embraced, but his wayward conduct, at this 
time and afterward, has diminished the grateful respect 
with which Americans would have cherished his memory. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

THE WAR OF THE REVOLUTION— CONTINUED. 

Discouragements. — Eifects of Howe's Proclamation. — Aifairs on LakeCham- 
plaiii. — Heroism of Arnold. — Carleton retires to Canada. — Capture of 
Lee. — Troops from the Northern Army. — Battle of Trenton. — Battle 
of Princeton. — Death of Mercer. — Washington retires to Morristown. — 
CornwalUs in his Lines .at Brunswick. — Encouragements. — Putnam at 
Princeton. — Ill-treatment of American Prisoners ; their Exchange un- 
der Negotiation. — Appointment of General Officers. — Muhlenburg. — 
Wayne. — Conway. — Medical Department. — The Navy. — Marauding Ex- 
peditions. — Peekskill. — Danbury. — Death of Wooster. — RetaUation at 
Sag Harbor.- — Efforts to recruit the Army. — Schuyler and Gates. — The 
National Flag. 

As tlie news of this retreat went abroad, the friends of the chap. 
cause were discouraged. What remained of the army was '_ 



fast wasting away ; their enlistments were about to ex- 1776. 
pire, and the militia, especially that of New Jersey, re- 
fused to take the field in behalf of a ruined enterprise. 
Many thought the States could not maintain their inde- 
pendence ; but there were a few who, confident in the 
justice of their cause, were firm and undaunted. Among 
these was Washington. In a conversation with General 
Mercer he remarked : " That even if driven beyond the 
AUeghanies, he would stand to the last for the hberties of 
his country." 

Howe felt certain the game was his own ; he had only 
to bide his time. He sent forth another proclamation, in 



388 HISTOEY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

xxia' ^^^''^ ^® called upon all insurgents to disband, and Con- 
gress to lay down tlieir usurped authority ; and offered 



1776. pardon to all who should accept the terms within sixty 
days. Many persons, most of whom were wealthy, com- 
plied. Among these were two of the delegates from Penn- 
sylvania to the late Continental Congress, and the presi- 
dent of the New Jersey Convention which had sanctioned 
the Declaration of Inde^iendence, and others who had 
taken an active part in favor of the Kevolution. For ten 
days after the proclamation was issued, from two to three 
hundred came every day to take the required oath. 

The movements of the enemy, and the effect produced 
by the proclamation, caused great excitement in Phila- 
delphia. Putnam, who had been sent to command there, 
advised that, during this season of peril. Congress should 
_ hold its sessions elsewhere, and it adjourned to meet again 
12. at Baltimore. 

At this time a reinforcement of seven regiments was 
on its way from Canada. We now return to the forces on 
Lake Champlain, where we left Schuyler and Gates in a 
sort of joint command. 

The army driven out of Canada, broken, diseased, and 
dispirited, rested first at Crown Point, and then at Ticon- 
deroga. During his retreat, SuUivan wisely secured or 
destroyed all the boats on Lake Champlain. Its shores 
"were an unbroken wilderness ; thus the British were una- 
ble to follow up their pursuit by land or by water. 

Sir Guy Carleton, flushed with victory, and full of 
ardor, determined to overcome all obstacles and push his 
victory to the utmost. He would obtain the command 
of the Lakes Champlain and George, and by that means 
subdue northern New York, and then proceed to take 
possession of Albany, where he hoped to take up his win- 
ter-quarters. From that point, he hoped, by means of 
the Hudson, to co-operate with the Howes at New York, 
to cut off the communication between New England and 



HEROISM OF ARNOLD. 



389 



the states west and south. This he helieved would bring ™ap. 

the contest to a speedy close, and secure to himself a share 

of the honors of the victory. He exerted himself with so 1V76. 
much energy and success, that at the end of three months 
he had a well-equipped fleet. The frames of five large 
vessels, that had been brought from England, were put 
together at St. John's on the Sorel. These, with twenty 
smaller craft, and some armed boats, which had been 
dragged up the rapids of that river, were now launched 
u^wn the lake. 

The Americans were not idle. General Gates author- 
ized Arnold, who was somewhat of a seaman, to fit out 
and command a flotilla. Arnold threw himself into the 
enterprise with all the energy of his nature, and soon was 
master of a force, in vessels and men, nearly half as large 
as that of Carle ton. He moved his little fleet across a 
narrow strait between Valcour Island and the mainland, 
in such a position that the whole force of the enemy could 
not be made to bear upon him at one time ; there he awaited 
the contest. As Carleton, with a favorable wind, swept 
briskly up the lake, he passed the island behind which 
Arnold's flotilla lay snugly anchored, before he observed 
it. The wind was such that the larger ships could not 
beat up the strait, but the smaller vessels advanced, and 
a desperate encounter ensued, which was continued until 
evening came on. Then Carleton arranged his squadron 
so as to intercept Arnold's escape, and awaited the morn- 
ing ; when, if his larger vessels could be made to bear, he 
felt certain of the prize. The night proved dark and 
cloudy ; favored by this circumstance^ Arnold slipped by 
the enemy, and at daylight was some miles on his way to 
Crown Point. But as most of his vessels were in bad con- 
dition, they could make but little headway ; only six 
reached that place in safety, two were sunk, and the oth- „ 
ers were overtaken by Carleton a few miles from the Point, 6. 



390 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

9™.?- where one was captured witli the crew. Arnold fought 
XXXI. ^ , o 

desperately, until his galley, the Congress, was cut to 

1770. jjieces, and one-third of her crew killed. Determined that 
his flag should not be struck, he ordered his vessels to be 
grounded and set on fire. When this was done, he, with 
his men, leaped out and waded to the shore, and by well- 
directed rifle-shots kept the enemy at bay tUl the vessels 
were consumed, and with them the still waving flag ; then 
giving a triumphant cheer, they moved ofl' through the 
woods to Crown Point, where they found the remnant of 
the fleet. They stayed only to destroy the houses and the 
stores at the fort, and then embarked for Ticonderoga. 
Before the enemy arrived, Gates, who commanded at that 
post, had so strengthened his position that Carleton decid- 
ed not to attack it, but to rethe to Canada, and postpone 
his wintering in Albany to some future day. 

As the forts on the Lakes were safe for the present, 
General Schuyler detached the seven regiments, of which 
we have spoken, to the relief of Washington. When Lee 
learned that three of these regiments were at Peekskill, 
he ordered them to join him at Morristown. The remain- 
ing four, under General Gates, were passing through 
northern New Jersey toward Trenton. 

Gates was detained by a severe snow-storm, and un- 
certain as to the exact position of the army, he sent for- 
ward Major Wilkinson with a letter to Washington, 
stating his position, and asking what route he should take 
to the camp. Wilkinson learned that Wasliington had 
crossed the Delaware ; and as General Lee, the second in 
command, was at Morristown, he made his way thither. 
Just at this time, Lee with a small guard was quartered, 
for the night, at a tavern at Baskenridge, three miles from 
his army, which was left under the command of Sullivan. 
Here he was joined by Wilkinson, on the morning of the 
Dec. thirteenth of December. Lee took his breakfast in a 
leisurely manner, discussed the news, and had just finished 



13. 



CAPTURE OF LEE. 391 

a letter to General Gates, when, much to his surprise, the <^nAP. 

house was surrounded by a party of British dragoons. He 

had not dreamed that an enemy was near, and his guards 1770. 
were off duty. But a Tory of the neighborhood had 
learned the evening before where he intended to lodge and 
' breakfast, and had, during the night, ridden eighteen 
miles to Brunswick, to inform the enemy, and to pilot 
tliem to the spot. For a few moments all was confusion. 
The dragoons were calling for the General, and the Gen- 
eral was calling for the guards, who were scattered in all 
directions. " The scene was soon closed. General Lee, 
without a hat, clad in a blanket-coat and slippers, was 
mounted on a horse that stood at the door, and borne off 
in triumph to the British army at Brunswick." 

Had Lee, by some fortunate accident, succeeded in re- 
trieving the fortunes of the army, imsuccessful under 
Washington, it is probable that the wishes of the people 
might have turned toward him as commander-in-chief. 
For men are too apt to judge of those who live in the same 
age with themselves, merely by their success ; and too 
often they yield to what is self-confident and assuming, 
the honor and respect due to sober judgment and high 
moral j^rinciples. 

Under these circumstances, Lee's success would have 
proved most unfortunate for the country, for he had nei- 
ther the judgment nor the principle necessary to guide it 
safely through the approaching crisis. 

After the capture of Lee, the troops under SuUivan 
moved on at once to join the Commander-in-chief. Gen- 
eral Gates, who had left his regiments at Morristown, 
reached the camp on the same day. As Washington had 
now a force of about six thousand men fit for service, he 
was anxious to strike a blow, that should revive the cour- 
age of the army and the people, before the disbandment 
of those troops, whose terms of enlistments were about to 



392 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

.™AP. expire. The prospect of success was doubtful, but he felt 
that, under the circumstances, inaction would ruin the 



1776. cause, and defeat could do no more. 

Howe was in New York ; Cornwallis, who was on the 
eve of embarldng for England, was there also. The Brit- 
ish forces in New Jersey, though strong, were much scat- 
tered. The Hessians, who were in the advance, were 
carelessly cantoned at different points along the eastern 
bank of the Delaware. Colonel Douop was stationed at 
Burlington, and his forces were quartered above and be- 
low that point. Colonel Kahl, who had distinguished 
himself at White Plains and Fort Washington, was at 
Trenton, with a force of fifteen hundred men. Tliis brave 
but careless commander took his ease, enjoyed his music 
and bath, and when it was proposed to throw up works 
upon which to mount cannon, in readiness against an 
assault, said, merrily : " Pooh ! pooh ! an assault by 
the rebels ! Let them come ; we'll at them with the 
bayonet." The Hessians were a terror to the people ; 
they plundered indiscriminately Whig and Tory. The 
American soldiers hated them intensely for their savage 
bayonetings on the battle-field, and were eager to avenge 
the outrages inflicted upon their friends and countrymen. 

Washington proposed to cross the river and surprise 
the Hessians at different points. A council of war was 
held, and Christmas night was fixed upon for the enter- 
prise. By the plan proposed, Washington himself was to 
cross nine miles above Trenton, and march down upon 
that place. Colonel Ewing, with the Pennsylvania mili- 
tia, was to cross a mile below the town, and secure the 
bridge over Assunpink creek, at the south side of it, and 
thus cut off the enemy's retreat. Adjutant-general Reed 
and Colonel Cadwallader, who were stationed at Bristol, 
nearly opposite Burlington, were to cross below that place 



BATTLE OF TRENTON. 393 

and advance against Count Donop's division. The attacks ^,5v?" 

were to be simultaneous, and five o'clock on the morning 

of the twenty-sixth was the hour agreed upon. 1776. 

Just after sunset, on Christmas night, the division un- 
der Washington, twenty-four hundred in number, began 
to pass over. With this division was a train of twenty 
field-jDieces, under the command of Colonel Knox. The 
river was filled with floating ice, and the weather was in- 
tensely cold. The boats were guided by Colonel Grlover, 
and his regiment of Marblehead fishermen, the same who 
had guided the boats on the memorable retreat from Long 
Island. The night was extremely dark and tempestuous, 
and the floating ice and strong wind drove them out of 
their course again and again. 

Washington had hoped to be on the march by mid- 
night, but hour after hour passed, and it was four o'clock 
before the artillery was landed, and the trooj^s ready to 
move on. They marched in two divisions, one led by 
Washington, (with whom were Generals Greene, Stirling, 
Mercer, and Stephen,) by a circuitous route to the north 
of the town, while the other, under Sullivan, with whom 
was Colonel John Stark, with his New Hampshire band, 
was to advance by a direct road along the river, to the 
west and south side. Sullivan was to halt at a certain 
point to allow time for the main division to make the 
circuit. 

It was eight o'clock before this division reached the 
immediate neighborhood of Trenton ; they had struggled 
through a terrible storm of hail and snow ; it had impeded Dec. 
their march, but it had also aided to conceal their move- 
ments from the enemy. Washington, who had pushed on 
with the advance, asked of a man who was chopping wood 
by the road-side the way to the Hessian picket. He an- 
swered grufily, " I don't know," and went on with his 
work. " You may tell," said Captain Forrest, of the ar- 
tillery, " for that is General Washington." " God bless 



394 HISTOEY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

xxxT' ^^^ prosper you ! " exclaimed the man, raising his hands 

to heaven, " the picket is in that house, and the sentry 

1776. stands near that tree." 

In a few minutes the jjicket-guards were driven in. 
Late as it was, the Hessians were completely surprised. 
According to their custom, they had indulged freely in the 
festivities of Christmas, and were resting thoughtless of 
danger, when the drums suddenly beat to arms. All was 
confusion. At the first alarm. Colonel Kahl, who learned 
from the lieutenant of the picket-guard that a large force 
was advancing to surround him, endeavored to rally his 
panic-stricken troops. He seems to have meditated a re- 
treat to Princeton ; he had, in fact, passed out of the 
town, but the ambition of the soldier triumphed in his 
breast ; how could he fly before the rebels he had de- 
spised ? He rashly returned to the charge. By this time 
Washington had gained the main street, and opened a 
battery of six field-pieces, which swept it from end to end. 
As Eahl advanced, at the head of his grenadiers, he fell 
mortally wounded. At the fall of their leader his soldiers 
attempted to retreat, but they were intercepted by Colonel 
Hand, with his Pennsylvania riflemen ; and, hemmed in 
on all sides, they grounded their arms and surrendered at 
discretion. 

Stark, with his detachment, had assaulted the south 
side of the town, and the firing in that quarter had added 
to the general confusion. A party of British Hght-horse, 
and five hundred Hessians stationed there " took headlong 
flight, by the bridge across the Assunpink," and thus 
escaped and joined Donop at Bordentowu. Had Colonel 
Ewing been able to cross, according to the arrangement, 
their escape would have been prevented. 

The Americans took one thousand prisoners, of whom 
thirty-two were officers ; of their own number, only two 
were killed, and two were frozen to death on the march. 
Several were wounded, among whom was James Monroe, 



I 



PLANS TO DBIVE THE ENEMY OUT OF JERSEY. 395 

afterward President of the United States, who was at this ^^P- 
time a lieutenant in the army. 

The attack designed by Eeed and Cadwallader, like 1776. 
that of Colonel Ewing, was prevented by the ice, which 
made it impossible for them to embark their cannon. 
Thus the success was incomplete, and Washington at 
Trenton, encumbered by his prisoners, with a strong force 
of the enemy below him, under Count Donop, and another 
in his rear at Princeton, prudently resolved to recross the 
Delaware. 

Before he left the town, he, with General Greene, visit- 
ed Colonel Eahl, who survived until the evening of the 
day after the battle. The dying Colonel remembered his 
grenadiers, and during this visit he commended them to 
the consideration of Washington. Kahl lies buried in the 
grave-yard of the Presbyterian church in Trenton. 

When Washington had disposed of his prisoners, and 
allowed his troops a little time to recruit, he resolved to 
return and follow up his success, before the enthusiasm it 
liad awakened had time to cool. Meantime, he had re- 
ceived from Eeed and Cadwallader, who had crossed on 
the twenty-seventh, the encouraging news that all the Deo. 
Hessian posts on the liver were deserted ; that Count 
Donop had retreated with all haste to Brunswick, with a 
portion of his forces, while the remainder had made their 
way to Princeton. 

" A fair opportunity is now offered," writes Washing- 
ton at this time, " to drive the enemy out of New Jersey," 
and he formed his plans accordingly. The American 
forces, now no longer needed to guard the Delaware, were 
gradually concentrating at Trenton. Parties were sent to 
harass the retreating enemy, and General Heath was or- 
dered to make a demonstration from the Highlands, as if 
he intended to attack New York. The New England 
regiments, whose terms were about to expire, were induced 
by a bounty of ten dollars and the persuasions of their 



396 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

^.^^P- officers to remain six weeks longer. Men of standing and 

influence were sent abroad to rouse the militia of New 

1776. Jersey to avenge the outrages inflicted upon the people 
by the Hessians. Matters began to wear a brighter aspect, 
and hope and enthusiasm were revived. 

At this crisis, Washington received the highest mark 
of confidence in the gift of the people — Congress investal 
him with unlimited mflitaiy authority for six months. 
The letter of the committee which conveyed to him this 
resolution closed with these words : " Happy is it for this 
country that the general of their forces can safely be in- 
trusted with the most unlimited power, and neither jjer- 
sonal security, liberty, nor property be in the least endan- 
gered thereby." ' 

Nothing could exceed the astonishment of Howe when 
he learned that his Hessians, veterans in war, had fled 
before the miUtia. Cornwallis was hurried back to resume 
liis command in the Jerseys. 

Washington, anxious to ascertain the movements and 
designs of the enemy, sent forward Colonel Keed, who 
was well acquainted with the country, to reconnoitre. 
With Keed were six young horsemen, members of the 
"Philadelphia City Troop," full of fire and zeal, but who 
had never seen active service. No reward could induce 
the terror-stricken people to approach Princeton and bring 
them information. Nothing daunted, the party dashed 
on till they were in view "of the top of the college building, 
when tliey observed a British dragoon passing from a barn 
to a farm-house. SupjDOsing him to be a marauder, they 
determined to capture him, and obtain the desired infor- 
mation. Presently they saw another, and another. They 
charged at once and surrounded the house, " and twelve 
dragoons, weU armed, ■with their pieces loaded, and hav- 

' Correspondence of the ReToIution rol. iv. p. 652. 



BOTH ARMIES ON THE BANKS OF ASSUNPINK CREEK. 397 

ing the advantage of the house, surrendered to seven ^^f- 
horsemen, six of whom had never seen an enemy before, 



'^O 



and, almost in sight of the British army, were brought 1776. 
into the American camp at Trenton, on the same even- 
ing." ' The sergeant of the dragoons alone escaped. The 
information obtained from these prisoners was most im- 
portant. Cornwallis, with a body of picked troops, had 
joined Colonel Grant the day before at Princeton, and they 
were ready to march the next day upon Trenton, with a 
strong force of seven or eight thousand men. 



2. 



In anticipation of an attack, Washington arranged 
his men, in number about sis thousand, in a favorable 
position on the east bank of Assunpink creek. As the 
enemy approached, on the second of January, their ad- Jan. 
vance was harassed, and so effectually held in check, by 
forces sent forward under General Greene and Colonel 
Hand, that they did not reach Trenton till near sunset. 
The fords and bridge over the creek were carefully guarded 
and defended by the American batteries. Cornwallis made 
repeated attempts to cross, but was as often repulsed ; at 
each repulse a shout ran along the American lines. Think- 
ing that the struggle might be a desperate one, the British 
commander concluded to defer it tiU the next day, and 
retired with the boast that he would " bag the fox in the 
morning." Both armies kindled their camp-fires, and 
once more they rested in sight of each other. 

Never had the prospect of the Americans been so 
gloomy, The officers gathered at the quarters of General 
Mercer to hold a council of war ; to retreat was impossi- 
ble ; behind them was the Delaware, filled with floating 
ice. Who could propose an expedient that would relieve 
them from the present dilemma ? Such an expedient, 
one of the boldest and best conceived of the whole war, 



' Life of Colonel Reed, p. 369. 



398 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

^^P- bad crossed the mind of the Commander-in-chief. He 

judged that the main division of the British forces was 

1777. with Oornwallis ; that Princeton and Brunswick, where 
their stores were deposited, could be but imperfectly 
guarded. He proposed to march by a circuitous and 
obscure road, around the left flank of the enemy, to 
Princeton, capture the forces there, and then push on and 
seize the stores at Brunswick. The plan was accepted at 
once, and the officers entered into it with alacrity. The 
stores were sent down the river to Burlington, and various 
stratagems were resorted to to deceive the enemy. Small 
parties were left behind, some to be noisily employed in 
digging trenches within hearing of their sentinels ; others 
to relieve the guards and replenish the camp-fires, and 
preserve all the appearance of a regular encampment ; at 
daylight these were to hasten after the army. 

About midnight the Americans began their silent 
march. The road over which they moved was new and 
rough, and at sunrise they were still three miles from 
Princeton. Here they halted, and formed into two divi- 
sions, one of which, under Washington, was to proceed 
by a cross-cut to the town, while the other, under General 
Mercer, was to gain the main road, and destroy the bridge, 
when they had passed over, to prevent the approach of 
Oornwallis. 

Three British regiments had passed the night at 
Jan. Princeton, and two of them were already on their march 
to join the forces at Trenton. Colonel Mawhood, com- 
mander of the foremost, when about two miles from the 
town, caught sight of Mercer's division. Believing it a 
party of Americans who had been driven from Trenton, he 
sent back a messenger to Princeton to hurry on the other 
regiments, that they might surroimd them, and cut off 
their retreat. Presently Mercer espied the British, and 
now both parties rushed to gain a favorable position on a 
rising ground. The Americans were successful, and with 



BATTLE OF PRINCETON. 399 

their rifles opened a severe fire upon the enemy, who re- ^.^-^P- 

turned it vigorously. Almost at the first fire Mercer's ^ 

horse was shot under him, and the second officer in com- 1777. 
mand fell mortally wounded. The enemy took advantage 
of the confusion that followed the fall of the leaders, and 
rushed on with the bayonet. The Americans, who were 
without bayonets, unable to withstand the charge, gave 
way. As Mercer, now on foot, endeavored to rally them, 
he was struck down, bayoneted, and left on the field ap- 
parently dead. 

As his men retreated in confusion, a body of Pennsyl- 
vania militia, which Washington had sent to their aid, 
appeared in sight. Mawhood instantly checked his pur- 
suit of the fugitives, and opened upon these fresh troops a 
heavy fire of artillery, which brought them to a stand. 

Convinced by the continued firing that the conflict 
was serious, AVashingtou spurred on in advance of his 
division, and just at this crisis had reached a rising ground 
near by, from which he witnessed the scene. He saw the 
scattered forces of Mercer, the hesitation of the militia ; 
every thing was at stake. He dashed forward in the face 
of Mawhood's artillery, exposed both to the fire of the 
enemy and the random shots of his own soldiers, and 
waving his hat called upon the faltering and broken forces 
to follow him. Insi^ired by his voice and example, they 
rallied at once and returned to the charge. At this mo- 
ment a Virginia regiment emerged from a neighboring 
wood, and with loud cheers engaged in the conflict ; while 
the American artillery, now within range, began to shower 
grape-shot upon the enemy. The fight was desperate, 
but the field was won. Mawhood, who, a few minutes 
before, had felt certain of victory, now with great difficulty 
forced his way back to the main road, and retreated with 
all haste toward Trenton. 

The second regiment was attacked by the brigade un- 
der St. Clair ; broken and scattered, it fled across the 



400 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, fields towards New Brunswick. Alarmed at the general 

rout, a part of the third regiment fled in the same direc- 

1777.' tion, -while another portion took refuge in the college 
building. The American artillery was immediately brought 
to bear upon it, and they soon surrendered. 

The British loss in this battle was about one hundred 
slain, and three hundred prisoners, while the Americans 
lost but few ; among these was the brave Colonel Haslet. 
Mercer, who was left on the field for dead, was after the 
battle discovered by Colonel Armstrong, still alive, but 
suffering greatly from his wounds, and exposure to the 
cold. He was borne to a neighboring farm-house, where, 
after a few days, he expired. As a soldier, he was brave ; 
as a man of sterling merit, he was worthy the respect of 
his adopted countrymen, for, like Montgomery, he was of 
foreign birth, and like him, he has won an hohorable name 
among the heroes of the Kevolution. 

Washington, eager to secure the stores so necessary 
for his army, pushed on some distance toward Brunswick. 
A little reflection convinced him that his troops, in their 
exhausted condition, could not reach there before they 
would be overtaken. They had been a night and a day 
without rest ; they were thinly clad, and some of them 
were barefoot. He stopped and held a consultation with 
his officers on horseback. They decided that it was inju- 
dicious to proceed. Grieved and disappointed, that they 
were unable to reap the advantage of their recent success, 
they turned their steps toward Morristown. 

When morning revealed to the enemy on the banks of 
the Assunpink the deserted camp of the Americans, Corn- 
wallis was greatly at a loss to divine to what covert the 
" fox " had fled. Soon the booming of cannon at Prince- 
ton gave him the desired information. His thoughts 
turned at once to the stores at Brunswick : he must save 



THE BRITISH CONFINED TO THEIR CAMP. 401 

them from the hands of his enemy. His march back to ™^' 

Princeton was nnich impeded. The Americans had not 

forgotten to throw obstacles in his way. He found the 1777. 
bridge over Stony Creek, a few miles from the town, bro- 
ken down, and the party of Americans left for that pur- 
pose stUl in sight. Impatient of delay he urged on his 
soldiers, who, although the waters were breast high, dashed 
across the stream. Believing that Washington was in 
full march for Brunswick, he halted not at Princeton, but 
hurried on in pursuit with so much eagerness, that he did 
not observe that the Americans had diverged from the 
road. 

The American army retreated to a strong position at 
Morristown. There the soldiers provided themselves huts, 
and remained until the last of May. 

For six months after the battle of Princeton no enter- 
prise of importance was undertaken by either party. 

The yeomanry of New Jersey were now thoroughly 
roused to preserve their State from further depredations. 
They warmly seconded the efforts of Washington, and 
greatly aided the detachments from the army, who were 
on the alert to cut off the foraging parties of the enemy ; 
and so effectually did they harass them, that they scarcely 
ventured out of sight of their camp. Thus unable to ob- 
tain provisions for his army, Cornwallis gradually with- 
drew within his lines, at Brunswick and Amboy, that he 
might be in communication with New York by water, 
whence alone he could draw his suppKes. Thus those 
who, a few weeks before, were in possession of nearly all 
New Jersey, were now able to retain scarcely more of her 
soil than was sufficient for a camp. 

The success that had crowned the American arms at 
Trenton and Princeton cheered the hearts and revived the 
hopes of the patriots ; but they knew well that the enemy 
was checked, not conquered ; that the struggle must be 
renewed, and the result was still doubtful. 
26 



402 HISTOKY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

x^^' Washington had established his head-quarters at Mor- 

ristown, while the right wing of his army, under Putnam, 

1777. was stationed at Princeton, and the left was in the High- 
lands, under General Heath. Along this extended line, 
at convenient distances, were established cantonments. 
Though weak in numbers, the army was so judiciously 
posted that the enemy, deceived by its apparent strength, 
hesitated to attack it. 

Putnam, who had with him but a few hundred men, 
resorted to stratagem to hide his weakness. A British 
officer, who lay mortally wounded at Princeton, desired 
the presence of a military comrade in his -last moments. 
The kind-hearted general could not deny the request ; he 
sent a flag to Bnmswick in quest of the friend, who en- 
tered Princeton after dark. Every unoccupied house was 
carefiilly hghted, lights gleamed in all the college windows, 
and the Old General marched and countermarched his 
scanty forces to such eifect, that the British soldier, on 
his return to the camp, reported them as at least five 
thousand strong. 

The winter at Morristown was a season of comparative 
quiet, during which the Commander-in-chief was engaged 
in earnest efforts to improve the state of his army. The 
evil etfects of the system of short enlistments adopted by 
Congress, and rejieatedly protested against by Washing- 
ton, were severely felt at this juncture. The terms of 
great numbers were about to expire, and new recruits 
came in but slowly. To guard against the ravages of 
small-pox, which at times had been fatally prevalent in 
the army, these were inoculated as fast as they came in. 

The exchange of prisoners had become a subject of 
negotiation. At first the British refused to exchange on 
equal terms, on the plea that the Americans were rebels, 
but Howe, -nho had at this time about five thousand on 
his hands, opened a correspondence with Washington on 
the subject. Now the Americans in their turn objected 



I 



SUFFEEINGS OF AMERICAN PRISONERS. 403 

to an exchange. Their captured countrymen had been chap. 

left to the tender mercies of the New York Tories, crowded '_ 

into warehouses, which had been converted into prisons, 1777. 
or into loathsome hulks anchored in the bay ; fed with 
impure food, and left to languish in filth and nakedness. 
Thrilling tales are told of the suiferings of those confined 
in the sugar-house, and on board the Jersey, a prison- 
ship. More than ten thousand wretched American pris- 
oners died during the war, and were buried without cere- 
mony in shallow graves at Brooklyn, on Long Island. Of 
those who survived, scarcely one ever fully recovered from 
the efiects of these hardships. 

Washington refused to recruit the British army by an 
exchange of well-fed and hale Hessian and British prison- 
ers, for emaciated and diseased Americans, whose terms 
of enlistment had expired, and who were scarcely able, 
from very weakness, to return to their homes. His policy 
was sanctioned by Congress — a severe jiolicy, but author- 
ized by the necessities of the times. 

To supply the want of field-ofiicei-s. Congress com- Feb. 
missioned five major-generals : Stirling, St. Clair, Mifilin, ^^• 
Stephen, and Lincoln. The latter we have seen as the 
secretary of the first Provincial Congress of Massachu- 
setts. He was afterward the efiicient commander of the 
militia of that State, and now he was promoted over the 
heads of all the brigadiers. In these appointments, Ar- 
nold, whose meritorious conduct on the battle-field, as 
well as his seniority as a brigadier, entitled him to promo- 
tion, was entirely overlooked. He complained bitterly of 
tliis injustice ; the wound rankled in his proud breast ; 
from this hour, till he found consolation in revenge, he 
seems to have brooded over the disrespect shown him by 
his countrymen. 

Eighteen brigadier-generals were also commissioned, 
among whom were Glover, the leader of the Marblehead 
fishermen; George Clinton, of New York, the sturdy 



404 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, guardian of the Highlands, and afterward Vice-President ; 

Woodford and Muhlenburg, of Virginia — the latter an 

1777. Episcopal clergyman, who at the commencement of hos- 
tilities had " laid aside the surplice to put on a uniform," 
raised a company of soldiers, and who continued in the 
army till the close of the war — and Hand and Anthony 
Wayne, of Pennsylvania. Wayne was by nature a sol- 
dier ; even in his school-days he turned the heads of his 
companions by telhng them stories of battles and sieges, 
and drilled them in making and capturing mud forts. In 
later years he was so distinguished for his daring, that he 
became known in the army by the appellation of " Mad 
Anthony." 

An Irish adventurer named Conway, who professed to 
have served for thirty years in the French army, and to 
be thoroughly skilled in the science of war, was also com- 
missioned. He proved, however, more famous for intrigues 
than for military genius or coiirage. 

Congress also authorized the enlistment of four regi- 
ments of cavalry. The quartermaster's department was 
more perfectly arranged, and General Mifflin was placed 
at its head. 

The hospital department was also reorganized, and 
placed under the charge of Doctor Shijipen, of the Medi- 
cal College at Philadelphia. His principal assistant was 
Doctor Craik, the friend and companion of Washington in 
his expeditions against Fort Du Quesne. 

Doctor Push, one of the signers of the Declaration of 
Independence, and afterward celebrated in his profession, 
was appointed surgeon-general. The office of adjutant- 
general, resigned by Colonel Keed, was given to Timothy 
Pickering, of Massachusetts. 

Nor was the navy neglected. Of the vessels authorized 
to be built, several frigates had been finished and equipped, 
but the want of funds prevented the completion of the 
remainder, for the Continental money began to depreciate, 



MARAUDING EXPEDITIONS — DANBURY BURNED. 405 

and loans could not be obtained. The entire American CHAP. 

fleet, under Admiral Hopkins, was at this time blockaded '_ 

at Providence. But privateers, especially from New Eng- 1777. 
land, were eager in pursuit of British vessels trading to 
the West Indies, of which they captured nearly three 
hundred and fifty, whose cargoes were worth five millions 
of dollars. A profitalile trade, principally by way of the 
West Indies, was also opened with France, Spain, and 
Holland, but it was attended by great risks, and a large 
numlier of American vessels thus engaged fell into the 
hands of British cruisers. 

In the spring, while Washington still remained at 
Morristown, the British commenced a series of marauding 
expeditions. A strong party was sent up the Hudson to 
seize the military stores at Peekskill. General McDou- 
gall, finding it impossible to defend them against a force 
BO superior, burned them, and retired with his men to the 
Mils in the vicinity. As General Heath had been trans- 
ferred to the command in Massachusetts, Washington sent 
Putnam to command in the Highlands. 

A month later Oornwallis made an attack on a corps April 
imder General Lincoln, stationed at Boundbrook, a few 13. 
miles from Brunswick. The militia, to whom the duty 
was intrusted, imjoerfectly guarded the camp. Lincoln 
with difficulty extricated himself, after losing a few men 
and some cannon. 



Presently a fleet of twenty-six sail was seen proceed- 
ing up the Sound ; anxious eyes watched it from the shore. 
It was the intriguing Tryon, now a major-general, in com- 
mand of a body of Tories, two thousand strong, who was 
on his way to destroy the military stores collected at Dan- 
bury, Connecticut. He landed on the beach between 
Fairfield and Norwalk, on the afternoon of the twenty- 
fifth, and immediately commenced his march. April. 



406 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

^^P- The alarm spread ; General Silliman, of the Con- 

necticut mihtia, called out his men, and sent expresses in 

1777. every direction. Arnold, who had been sent by Washing- 
ton, some months before, to prepare defences at Provi- 
dence, and obtain recruits, happened to be in New Haven 
when the express arrived with the intelligence of the in- 
road. He hastened with some volunteers to join Generals 
Wooster and Silliman, whose forces amounted to about 
six hundred militia ; and the whole company moved after 
the marauders. 

Tryon, who had marched all night, reached Danbury 
on the afternoon of the twenty-sixth. He commenced at 
once to destroy the magazines of stores. Although the 
inhabitants had abandoned their homes at his approach, 
he permitted his soldiers to burn almost every house in 
the village. By morning the work of destruction was 
complete. The militia were approaching, and the ma- 
rauders were compelled to run the gauntlet to their ships, 
twenty miles distant. 

The Americans were separated into two divisions, one 
under Wooster, the other under Arnold ; while the former 
was to harass the enemy in the rear, the latter was to 
make a stand at a convenient point in advance and ob- 
struct their jirogress. 

The brave Wooster, though sixty-eight years of age, 
led forward his men with great spirit. When they, im- 
used to war, faltered in the face of the enemy's musketry 
and artillery, he rode to the front and cheered them. 
" Come on, my boys," cried he, " never mind such random 
shots." At that moment a musket-ball pierced his side, 
and he fell froni his horse mortally wounded. His soldiers 
now retreated in confusion. 

Arnold had made a stand at Ridgefield, two miles be- 
yond the spot where Wooster fell, and while the enemy 
was delayed by this skirmishing, he had thrown up a bar- 
ricade or breastwork. He acted with his usual daring, 



DEATH OF GENERAL WOOSTEE. 407 

but, after a spirited resistance, his little force was over- chap. 

powered by numbers and driven back. As be was bring- 

ing off the rear-guard bis horse was shot under him ; IVTV. 
before he could disengage himself from the struggling ani- 
mal, a Tory rushed up with a fixed bayonet, and cried 
out, " You are my prisoner." " Not yet," replied Arnold, 
as he coolly levelled his pistol and shot him dead. He then 
escaped, rallied liis men, and renewed the attack. 

The determined resistance of the militia retarded the 
British so much, that they were forced to encamp for the 
night. The next day they were greeted with the same -A^Pf'l 
galling fire from behind trees, fences, and houses, which 
continued uutil they came v\itliin range of the guns of 
their ships. They speeddy embarked, fain to escape the 
rifles of the exasperated yeomanry. 

Greueral Wooster was conveyed to Danbury, where he 
died surrounded by his family. His loss was greatly de- 
plored by the patriots. A neat monument in the ceme- 
tery of that place now marks his grave. 

When Congress learned of the gallant conduct of Ar- 
nold, they commissioned him a major-general, and pre- 
sented him with a horse richly caparisoned. Yet even 
this tardy acknowledgment of his military merit was 
marred, — the date of his commission still left him below 
his proper rank. He seemed to feel this second slight 
more keenly than the first. 

The Americans resolved to retaliate in kind, and Colo- 
nel Keturn Jonathan Meigs, of Connecticut, with one 
hundred and seventy men, passed over the Sound to the 
east end of Long Island. They carried their boats, during 
the night, fifteen miles across the neck, launched them Mav 
on the bay, jDassed over to Sag Harbor, and destroyed a 
great amount of provisions and forage, collected there for 
the British. In addition, they burned twelve vessels. 



408 HISTOKY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

*^:^AP. took ninety piisoners, and returned without losing a man, 
having passed over ninety miles in twenty-five hours. 



1777. Though strenuous efforts were made to obtain recniits, 

the smallness of the American army still continued ; want 
of funds crijipled every measure. At the instance of 
Washington, Congress declared that those redemptioners 
or indented servants who enlisted in the army should, by 
that act, become freemen ; and bounties in land were 
offered the Hessians to induce them to desert. 

Meanwhile General Schuyler labored with great zeal 
in the northern department. But his feelings were se- 
verely tried by the aspersions which his enemies cast upon 
his character, and conduct of aifairs. In the autumn of 
1776 he wrote : " I am so sincerely tired of abuse, that I 
will let my enemies arrive at the completion of their wishes 
as soon as I shall have been tried ; and attempt to serve 
my injured country in some other way, where envy and 
detraction will have no temptation to follow me." But 
Congress would not accept his resignation. During the 
winter he made repeated ajjpeals to the Commander-in- 
chief for reinforcements and suj^plies, which, for want of 
means, could not be sent. There were but six or seven 
hundred men at Ticonderoga ; Carleton, he thought, 
might cross Lake Champlain on the ice and attack them ; 
if successful, he might follow out his original plan and 
jDUsh on to Albany. As the abuse of which Schuyler com- 
plained was continued, early in April he proceeded to 
Philadelphia, and demanded of Congress a committee to 
inquire into his conduct. Meantime General Gates had 
been ordered to take command at Ticonderoga. 

Schuyler's patriotism was not an impulse, not a matter 
of mere words, nor did injustice rouse in his breast, as in 
that of Arnold, the dark spirit of revenge. However, the 
committee reported in his favor ; and, with his character 
and conduct fully vindicated, he returned to the charge 
of the Northern Department. The ambitious Gates was 



NATIONAL FLAG. 409 

deeply chagrined and disappointed ; lie had flattered him- chap. 

self that Schuyler would never resume his command, and '_ 

regarded himself as virtually his successor. Professing to 1777. 
he aggrieved, he hastened to Philadelphia to seek redress 
at the hands of Congress. 

The want of a national flag was greatly felt, especially 
in the marine service. Congress adopted the " Union 
Flag," with its thirteen stripes, but displaced the " Cross 
of St. George," and substituted for it thirteen stars ; to ■^™^- 
which one star has since been added for each additional 
State. 



CHAPTEE XXXII. 

WAR OF THE REVOLUTION— CONTINUED. 

The Struggle excites an Interest in England and France. — Baron De Kalb. — 
Privateers fitted out in France. — Negotiations for Munitions of War. — 
Howe's Manoeuvres. — Burgoyne on his Way from Canada. — Ticonde- 
roga Captured. — St. Clair's Retreat to Fort Edward. — Efforts to arrest 
the Progress of Burgoyne. — Capture of General Prescott. — The secret 
E-Kpedition. — The British Fleet puts to sea. — The American Army at 
Germantown. — La Fayette. — Pulaski and Kosciuslio. — Aid sent to 
Schuyler. — Howe lands at Elkton. — Battle of Brandy wine. — Possession 
taken of Philadelphia. — Battle of Germantown. — Hessians repulsed at 
Fort Mercer. — Winter Quarters at Valley Forge. 

CHAP "^^^ unfortunate result of the battle of Long Island ; the 
XXXII. loss of New York and Fort Washington ; and the retreat 
acrcss New Jersey, were all significant of the weakness of 
the patriot army. Intelligence of these disasters disheart- 
ened the friends of the cause in Europe. Edmund Burke, 
their firm friend, remarked that, although the Americans 
had accomphshed wonders, yet the overpowering forces to 
be brought against them in the following campaign, must 
completely crush their hopes of Independence. Said he : 
" An army that is obliged, at all tunes, and in all situa- 
tions, to decline an engagement, may delay their ruin, but 
can never defend their country." 

The intelligent portion of the people of France were 
not indifferent spectators of this struggle ; it was watched 
with intense interest by her merchants, her manufacturers. 



1777. 



FKIENDS OF THE CAUSE IN EUROPE ENCOURAGED. 411 

her statesmen. From the day on whicli Canada was wrested chap. 

'' XXXII. 

from her, France had ardently hoped that her proud rival 

might in turn lose her own American colonies. Ten years 1Y77. 
before the commencement of hostilities, Choiseul, the en- 
lightened statesman and prime minister of Louis XV., sent 
an agent through the colonies, to ascertain the feelings of 
the people. That agent was Baron De Kalb, the sam 
who afterward so nobly served the cause in the American 
army. He was indefatigable in " collecting pamphlets, 
newspapers, and sermons," which he sent to his employer. 
Choiseul gathered from them the proofs that the British 
king and ministry, by their blindness and injustice, were 
fast alienating the good will of their colonists ; and he 
hoped by offering them, without restriction, the commerce 
of France, to alienate them more and more. Thus the 
minds of the French people and government were pre- 
pared to afford aid, but not under the present aspect of 
affairs. 

Early in the spring, intelHgence reached Europe, that 
the American army, which was supposed to be broken 
beyond recovery, had suddenly rallied, boldly attacked, 
and driven the invaders out of New Jersey. It was 
scarcely thought possible. How could a handful of iU- 
disciplined, ill-armed yeomanry, so destitute of clothes 
that some of them froze to death while on duty, and oth- 
ers stained the snow with the blood that flowed from their 
naked feet, meet and defeat a regular army ? Surely, 
men who would thus cheerfully suffer, deserved independ- 
ence ! A thrill of enthusiasm was excited in their favor. 
They were regarded as a nation of heroes, and Washing- 
ton, because of his prudence and skill, was extolled as the 
American Fabius. 

With the connivance of the government, American 
privateers were secretly fitted out, and even permitted to 
Bell their prizes in French ports, in spite of the protests 



412 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP of the British ainbasf3ador. The government itself secretly 

sent arms and military stores for the American army. 

1777. This was done by means of a fictitious trading-house, 
known as " Hortales and Company." These supplies were 
to he paid for in tobacco, sent by the way of the West 
Indies. Soon after the battle of Lexington, secret nego- 
tiations on the subject had been entered upon in London 
by Beaumarchais, an agent of the French court, and Ar- 
thur Lee, who for some years had resided in that city as 
a barrister. The latter was a brother of Richard Henry 
Lee, of Virginia, for which colony he had acted as agent 
in England. The Secret Committee of Congress, in the 
mean time, sent Silas Deane to Paris, as an agent to obtain 
supplies. Though Deane appeared in that city simply as 
a merchant, he became an object of suspicion, and was 
closely watched by British spies. Beaumarchais now made 
arrangements with him to send three ships laden with 
military stores to the United States. Unfortunately two 
of these ships were captured by British cruisers ; the third, 
however, arrived opportunely to furnish some of the regi- 
April. ments recently enhsted at Morristown. 

Three months after the Declaration of Independence, 
Doctor Franklin was sent to join Deane in France, and 
thither, Lee was also directed to repair. To these com- 
missioners Congress delegated authority to make a treaty 
of alliance with the French court. They were admitted 
to private interviews by Vergennes, Minister of Foreign 
Affairs, and encouraged, but the government was not yet 
prepared to make an open declaration of its true senti- 
ments. 

The British ministry, by means of spies, obtained in- 
formation of some of these proceedings. They immedi- 
ately issued letters of marque and reprisal against the 
Americans, while Parliament cheeifully voted supplies 
^^^- and men to prosecute the war. 



HOWE'S movements — NEWS FROM THE NORTH. 413 

As the sirring advanced, the enemy's movements were ^^^P- 

watched with anxious interest. That he might obseiTe 

them to better advantage, Washington, on the twenty- 1777. 
eighth of May, removed his camp to the heights of Middle- 
brook, a strong and central position. Early in June, Sir May. 
William Howe, who had received large reinforcements, 
and suj^plies of tents and camp equipage, established his 
head-quarters at Brunswick, about ten miles distant. 
He commenced a series of manceuvi-es, and made a 
feint movement toward Philadelphia, in the hope of draw- 
ing Washington from the heights into the open plain, 
where British discipline might prevail ; the latter was 
too cautious to be thus entraj^ped, and Howe, foiled in his 
attempt, retraced his steps to Brunswick. Presently he 
evacuated that place, and hastened with all speed toward 
Amboy. W^ashington sent an advance party in pursuit, 
but suspecting tliis move was also a feint, he followed 
slowly with the main body. The suspicion was just ; 
Howe suddenly wheeled, and by a rapid movement en- 
deavored to turn the Americans' left, in order to gain the 
passes and heights in their rear, but Washington saw his 
object in time to gain his stronghold. Unable to bring 
on an engagement, Howe in a few days withdrew his forces 

to Staten Island. Jui^e 

20. 
Just before this time, important news had been received 

from the North. Burgoyne, who had succeeded Sir Guy 

Carleton, was about to advance by way of Lake Cham- 

jilain, while a detachment under General St. Leger and 

Sir John Johnson, was to make its way by Oswego to the 

Mohawk river. On the very day that the British left 

New Jersey, further intelligence came from St. Glair that 

the enemy's fleet was actually approaching Ticonderoga, 

where he was in command. 

The force under Burgoyne was not precisely known ; 

it was, however, thought to be small, but in truth he had 

a finely equipped army of nearly ten thousand men, four- 



414 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, fifths of whom were regulars, British and Hessian ; the 

remainder Canadians and Indians. It was furnished with 

1777. one of the finest parks of field-artillery, under the com- 
mand of General Phillij)s, who had acquired his great 
reputation as an artillery officer in the wars of Germany. 
He was also ably supj^orted by the second in command. 
General Fraser, an officer of great merit, and who was 
characterized as the soul of the army. The Hessians 
were imder Baron Keidesel. 

Near Crown Point, Burgoyne met the chiefs of the 
Six Nations in councU, and induced four hundred of their 
Juno, warriors to join him. A few days later he issued a bom- 
bastic proclamation, in which he threatened to punish the 
patriots who would not immediately submit, and to let 
loose upon them the Indians. 

St. Clair, who had but three thousand men, wrote to 
General Schuyler at Albany, that he could not defend 
Ticonderoga unless he had reinforcements, ending his let- 
ter by saying : " Every thing will be done that is practi- 
cable to frustrate the enemy's designs ; but what can be 
expected from troops iU-armed, naked, and unaccoutred ? " 
StiU unaware of the force of the enemy, he trusted in his 
position, and that he could hold out for some time. 

There was an abrupt hill on the edge of the narrow 
channel which connects Lakes Champlain and George. 
This hill commanded Fort Ticonderoga, and also Fort 
Independence, on the east side of Champlain. It was 
thought by St. Clair, and others, to be absolutely inac- 
cessible for artillery. But the " wily Phillips," acting on 
the principle that " where a goat can go, a man may go ; 
and where a man can go, artillery may be drawn up," 
suddenly appeared on this hill-top. For three days he 
had been at work taking his cannon up the height, and in 
twenty-four hours he would be ready to " rain iron haU " 
on both the forts, from his Fort Defiance. 

The Americans must now evacuate the forts, or be 



I 



6. 



burgoyne's advance — ST. clair's retreat. 415 

made prisoners. St. Clair chose the former. He could chap. 

onlj- escape in the night, and his preparations must be , 

made in the face of the enemy. The two hundred bateaux 1777. 
were to be laden with stores, the women, the sick and 
wounded, and sent up South Kiver. St. Clair, with the 
main body, was to pass to Fort Independence, and with 
its garrison march through the woods to Skeenesborough, 
now Whitehall. With the greatest secrecy and speed, 
the arrangements were made ; the boats, concealed by the July 
deep shadows of the mountains, were under way ; the 
main body had passed over the drawbridge to Independ- 
ence, and was on its march, and the rear division was just 
leaving Ticonderoga, when suddenly, about four o'clock in 
the morning, the whole heavens were lighted up ; a house 
on mount Independence was on fire, and its light revealed 
the Americans in full retreat. Alarm guns and beating 
of drums aroused the British. General Fraser was soon 
in motion with his division, the abandoned forts were 
taken possession of, and by daylight measures concerted 
to pursue the fugitives both by land and water. Fraser 
was to pursue St. Clair with his division, and General 
Eeidesel to follow with his Hessians, while Burgoyne him- 
self sailed in his ships to overtake the American flotilla. 
On the afternoon of the next day, the flotilla reached 
Wliitehall ; but scarcely were they landed, when the roar- 
ing of artillery told that the British gunboats had over- 
taken the rear-guard of galleys. Presently, fugitives from 
these brought intelligence that the British frigates had 
landed Indians, who were coming to cut off their retreat. 
Every thing was abandoned, and set on fire ; all took to 
flight toward Fort Anne, at . which place, after a most 
harassing night-march, they arrived. The enemy appeared 
the same day, but were held in check by sharp skirmish- 
ing. The Americans thought this the vanguard of Bur- 
goyne's army, and they set Fort Anne on fire, and retreated 



416 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

^HAP. sixteen miles further to Fort Edward, where General 

Schuyler had just arrived with reinforcements. 

1777. General St. Clair continued his retreat, and at night 

arrived at Castleton ; his rear-guard, contrary to his ex- 
press orders, stopped six miles short of that place. The 
next morning, the guard was startled by an attack from 
Frascr's division, which had marched nearly all night. At 
tlie first onset a regiment of militia fled, but the regiments 
of Warner and Francis made a spirited resistance ; yet 
they were compelled to yield to superior numbers, and 
make the best retreat they could. St. Clair, in the mean 
time, jiushed on through the woods ; after seven days, he 
appeared at Fort Edward, with his soldiers wearied and 
haggard from toil and exposure. 

Schuyler sent at once a strong force to put obstructions 
in Wood Creek ; to fell trees and break down the bridges 
on the road from Fort Anne to Fort Edward. This being 
the only road across that rough and thickly wooded coun- 
try, it took Burgoyne three weeks to remove these obstruc- 
tions and arrive at Fort Edward. The British hailed 
with shouts of exultation the Hudson ; the object of their 
toil. It would be easy, they thought, to force their way 
.July to Albany, in which place Burgoyne boasted he would eat 
■ his Christmas dinner. 

Schuyler now retreated to Saratoga. In these reverses 
the loss of military stores, artiller}^, and ammunition was 
immense, and the intelligence spread -consternation through 
the country. The American army under Schuyler con- 
sisted of only about five thousand men, the majority of 
whom were militia ; many were without arms, while there 
was a deficiency of ammunition and provisions. 

Just at this time, a daring and successful adventure 
mortified the enemy, and afi'orded no little triumph to 
American enterprise. The commanding officer at New- 
port, General Prescott, famous for the arbitrary and con- 



A BRITISH FLEET PUTS TO SEA. 417 

temptuous manner in which he treated the "rebels," ^^jl- 

oifered a reward for the capture of Arnold, who rephed to ! 

the insult by oifering half the sum for the capture of 1777. 
Prescott. It was ascertained, by means of spies, that the 
latter was lodging at a certain house in the outskirts of 
the town. On a dark night a company of select men, 

with Colonel Barton at their head, crossed Narraganset J"ly 

. .13 

Bay, in whale-boats, threading their way through the Brit- 
ish fleet. They secured the sentinel at the door, burst 
into the house, and seized Prescott, who was in bed. The 
astonished General only asked if he might put on his 
clothes. "Very few and very quick," replied Barton. 
He returned with his prisoner across the bay without being 
discovered. This was a counterpart to the captvire of Lee, 
for whom Prescott was afterward exchanged. 

The uncertainty as to the designs of the enemy was 
perplexing. Washington learned from spies in New York 
that Howe was preparing for an expedition by water, but 
its destination was a profound secret. Burgoyne was evi- 
dently jjressing on toward the South, to obtain possession 
of the Hudson. Did Howe intend to move up that river to 
co-operate with him, and thus cut off the communication 
between New England and the other States ; to make an at- 
tack on Boston, and thus employ the militia of those States 
' at home, and prevent their joining Schuyler, or to endeavor 
to reach Philadelphia by water ? were questions difficult 
to answer. In the midst of these speculations as to its des- 
tination, the British fleet, on board of which were about 
eighteen thousand men, under the command of Howe, 
passed out through the Narrows, and bore away. Intelli- 
gence came in the course of ten days that it was seen off 
Cape May, and Washington moved the army across the Jnlv 
Delaware to Germantown, a few miles from Philadelphia. 
Presently it was ascertained that the fleet had sailed 
to the eastward. Was it to return to New York, or had 
27 



30. 



418 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

\xxn' ^^ sailed for Boston ? Till the designs of the enemy were 

. more definitely known, the army was held in readiness to 

1777. marcli at a moment's notice. 

While waiting for time to unravel these mysterious 
movements of Sir William, Washington visited Philadel- 
phia to consult with Congress, and to give directions for 
the further construction of fortifications on the Delaware, 
to prevent the enemy from ascending to the city. Some 
months before, Arnold, after refusing the command in the 
Highlands, offered him by Washington to soothe his 
wounded feelings, had accepted that in Pliiladelphia, and 
with the aid of General Mifflin, had already partially con- 
structed defences. 

The Duke of Gloucester, the brother of the king of 
England, at a dinner given him by French officers in the 
town of Mentz, had told the story, and the cause of the 
rebellion then going on in America. A youth of nineteen 
belonging to one of the noble families of France was a 
listener. For the first time, he heard of the Declaration 
of Independence, and the full particulars of the struggle 
for liberty then in progress in the colonies beyond the At- 
lantic. His generous sympathies were enlisted ; he could 
appreciate the nobleness of their cause, and his soul was 
fired with the desire to fly to their aid. Though happily 
married, and blest with wealth, high social position, and 
domestic joys, he was willing to leave them all, and risk 
his life in the cause of freedom. This young man was 
the Marquis De Lafayette. 

Though the French government was not prepared to 
take a decided stand, while the issue seemed doubtful, yet 
this consideration, instead of checking, inflamed his ardor. 
" Now I see a chance for usefulness, which I had not an- 
ticipated. I have money ; I will purchase a ship, which 
will convey to America myself, my comjjanions, and the 
freight for Congress." Such were his words ; and he se- 



LAFAYETTE — THE FOREIGN OFFICERS. 419 

cretly purchased a vessel, whicli Deane loaded witli military ™^P- 

stores, and accompanied by eleven officers, among whom 

was the Baron De Kalb, he sailed directly for the United 17VT. 
States. He landed on the coast of South Carolina, and 
proceeded at once to Philadelphia, to have an interview 
with Congress. The number of foreign officers who were 
applicants for employment in the army was so great, that 
Congress found difficulty in disposing of them. Deane had 
been authorized to engage a few competent officers, but 
he seems to have accepted all who applied ; and many 
came as adventurers, and " even some who brought high 
recommendations, were remarkable for nothing but extrav- 
agant self-conceit, and boundless demands for rank, com- 
mand, and pay." ' 

But the earnest disinterestedness of Lafayette capti- 
vated all hearts. Though he oflered to serve as a volun- 
teer without pay. Congress commissioned him a major- 
general, but without any special command. A few days 
after this Washington and Lafayette met — names to be 
ever linked in the annals of freedom. Congress also ac- Ang. 
cepted the services of Count Pulaski, already famous for 
his patriotic defence of his native Poland. His fellow- 
countryman, Thaddeus Kosciusko — a youth of twenty- 
one — afterward equally celebrated in fighting, though un- 
successfully, for the liberties of the same Poland, was 
already with General Schuyler, acting in the capacity of 
engineer. 

It was now ascertained that Sir Henry Clinton, whom 
Howe had left in command in New York, had a force 
sufficient, not merely to penetrate lip the Hudson and co- 
operate with Burgoyne, but to send detachments and 
create a diversion in favor of Howe in the vicinity of Phil- 
adelphia. 

Just at this time came urgent appeals from Schuyler, 

' Hildreth, vol. iii. p. 194. 



420 HISTORY OF THE UNITKD STATES. 

CHAP, and Washington detached to his aid two brigades from 

the Highlands, and soon after Colonel Morgan with his 

1777. riflemen, to counteract the Indians, of whom the militia 
had a great dread. He had already sent Arnold, who 
would be of special service in that region — the scene of 
some of his brilliant exploits. Now he directed General 
Lincoln, who was in Mssachusetts, to repair thither with a 
portion of the militia of that State, and sent an express to 
Putnam to hold himself in readiness to repel any attack 
from Clinton, and prevent his forming a junction with Bur- 
goyne. We will now leave the affairs in the North till we 
have disposed of those connected with Howe's expedition. 

In the midst of uncertainty, Washington was about to 
issue orders for the army at Germantown to move toward 
New York, when an express brought him the intelligence 
that the British fleet had passed into the Chesapeake. 
The mystery was easily explained. Howe had learned of 
the obstructions in the Delaware, and he now designed to 
land his troops at the head of the Chesapeake, and march 
thence to Philadelphia, while the fleet should return, and 
in concert with the land forces, reduce the forts on the 
Delaware. After being delayed some weeks by adverse 
winds, his army was now landed at Elkton, about sixty- 
miles from Philadelphia. His first demonstration was to 
issue another of his famous proclamations ; again he offered 
pardon to those rebels who would submit, and promised 
Aug protection to those persons who would remain peaceably 
25. at home. 

The main body o^ the American army was still at 
Germantown, where the militia, that had been called out, 
had assembled. Washington was sadly deficient in men 
and means to meet the British in open conflict ; and there 
were no hills in the region, which he coidd occupy. He 
had only eleven thousand effective men ; there was none 
of that enthusiasm which was then bringing the militia in 



BATTLE OF BEANDYWINE, 421 

thousands to repel Burgoyne. The Quakers of Delaware E^^,- 

and Pennsylvania were at best but lukewarm in the cause, 

while the Germans wished to be neutral, and to avoid the 1Y77. 
expense. 

Washington concentrated his army in the vicinity of 
Wilmington, but after examining the country resolved to 
fall back beyond the Brandywine creek, which was every- 
where fordable. The main road to Philadelphia crossed 
the creek at Chadd's Ford. This, it was thought, would 
be the main point of attack. A hQl overlooking the ford 
had been intrenched, and there Wayne was stationed with 
the artillery. The right wing was commanded by Sulli- 
van, who had just arrived with three thousand men from 
Jersey ; his division extended two miles up the creek. 
The left wing, under General Armstrong — the same who 
destroyed the Indian town of Kittaning — extended a mile 
below ; while General Greene, with the reserve, was sta- 
tioned in the rear of the centre on the hills. 

In the morning, the enemy, in heavy column, was Sept. 
descried moving toward Chadd's Ford. This division ^^• 
could be only partially seen, because of intervening woods, 
but it appeared to be the main body of the enemy. Skir- 
mishing soon commenced between the riflemen and the 
enemy, who made several attempts to cross the ford, but 
were as often repulsed. 

Near mid-day a note from Sullivan stated he had heard 
that Howe, with a large body of troops, was passing up 
another road, with the intention of reaching the upper 
fords of the creek, and then turning the right flank of the 
Americans. AVashington sent a company to reconnoitre. 
In the mean time, he determined to throw his entire force 
on the enemy immediately in his front, and rout them be- 
fore they could obtain assistance from the division march- 
ing the other road ; his orders were given for bofh wings 
to co-operate. This would have been a skilful move, and. 



422 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



CHAP, in all probability, have secured the defeat of Knyphausen, 

who, with his Hessians, was in front. 

ITVT. At the moment Sullivan was complying with the order, 

unfortunately Major Spicer came from the ujiper fords, 
and reported that there was no enemy in that quarter. 
This information was transmitted to the Commander-in- 
chief, who, in consequence, countermanded the former 
order, till he could receive further information. After 
waiting some time, a patriot of the neighborhood, with his 
horse in a foam, dashed into the presence of Washington, 
and declared that Howe was really passing the fords, and 
rapidly gaining the rear of the American army. Wash- 
ington replied, that he had just heard there was no enemy 
in that quarter. " You are mistaken, general," exclaim- 
ed the excited countryman ; " my life for it, you are mis- 
taken." And tracing the course of the roads in the sand, 
he showed him the position. All doubts were removed in 
a few minutes, by the return of the party sent to recon- 
noitre with intelligence that a large body of the enemy 
was fast gaining their rear. 

Lord Cornwallis, led by Tory guides, had marched a 
circuit of seventeen miles, and Knyphausen was merely 
waiting at Chadd's Ford for that circuit to be accom- 
plished. 

Sullivan was ordered to oppose Cornwallis, and Greene, 
with the reserve, to give aid where it might be needed. 
Sullivan made a vigorous resistance, but was forced to fall 
back to a piece of woods, in which the British became 
entangled. The Americans rallied on a hill, and there 
made a still firmer resistance, but were at length com- 
pelled to fall back. Greene was now ordered to move to 
their support, which he did with such rapidity, that his 
men marched, or rather ran, five miles in less than an 
hour. Such was the skilful disposition of his soldiers, 
that they not only checked the enemy, but opened their 
ranks and let the retreating Americans pass through. This 



AMERICANS EETREAT TO GERMANTOWN. 423 

brave conduct of the reserve saved Wayne's division from ™^J- 

a complete rout. He had stubbornly withstood the Hes- 

sians at the Ford, but when he saw the forces under Sul- 1777. 
livan retreating, unable to cope with half the British 
army, he gradually, and in order, fell back. The Hessians 
were not disi)osed to press upon their determined foe. 
Thus ended the battle of Brandywine. The Americans 
were driven from the field, but the soldiers were not aware 
that they had suffered a defeat ; they thought they had 
received only a check. Though some of the militia gave 
way at once, the great majority fought bravely, met the 
enemy in deadly conflict with the bayonet, and forced 
them back ; but, at last, numbers prevailed. 

Lafayette behaved with great bravery and prudence ; 
he had leaped from his horse to rally the troops, when he 
was severely wounded in the leg. Count Pulaski also dis- 
tinguished himself greatly — riding up within pistol-shot 
of the enemy to reconnoitre. Congress promoted him to 
the rank of brigadier-general, and gave him the command 
of the horse. 

Sir William Howe loved repose, and he did not press 
his advantage, but remained two days encamped near the 
field of battle. 

During this time, the Americans retreated, first to 
Chester, and on the twelfth safely crossed the Schuylkill, 
and thence proceeded to Germantown ; there Washington 
let them repose a day or two. They were in good spirits, 
he prepared to meet the enemy again, and with this inten- 
tion crossed the river. About twenty-five miles from Sept. 
Philadelphia the two armies met, but a furious storm pre- 
vented a conflict. The rain so much injured the a»ms and 
ammunition that Washington deemed it prudent once 
more to recross the river, and retire to Pott's Grove, about 
thirty miles from Philadelphia. General Wayne was de- 
tached, in the meanwhile, with fifteen hundred men, to 
secretly gain the rear of the British army, and cut off their 



424 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, taggage ; but a Tory carried information of the enter- 

prise, and Wayne himself was surprised, and after the loss 

1777. of three hundred men forced to retreat. 
20' When it seemed certain that the city must fall into 

the hands of the British, the military stores were removed, 
and a contribution levied upon the inhabitants for blank- 
ets, clothes, shoes, and other necessaries for the army 
during the approaching winter. 

It was a time of great danger, and Congress again 
clothed Washington with absolute power, first for sixty 
days, and soon after for double that period. This done, 
that body adjourned, first to Lancaster, and then in a few 
days to York, beyond the f^usquehanna. 

Howe, by a night march, was enabled to pass the 
Schuylkill ; he then pushed on a detachment which took 
Sent possession of Philadelphia, while the main body of his 
22. army halted at Germantown. 

Though the city was in the hands of the enemy, the 
Americans still held possession of the forts on the lower 
Delaware. 

With much exertion, Admiral Howe had brought the 
fleet round from the Chesapeake, and anchored it below 
the forts. Fort Mifflin was situated on a low mud island, 
at the confluence of the Schuylkill and the Delaware. 
Directly opposite, at Red Bank, on the Jersey shore, was 
Fort Mercer. These were furnished with heavy cannon. 
Heavy timbers framed together, with beams projecting, 
and armed with iron spikes, were sunk in the river by 
means of weights ; in addition to these obstructions, were 
floating batteries above. 



-'o 



Washington having learned, from intercepted letters, 
that a detachment had left Germantown to aid the fleet 
in an attack on these forts, resolved to surprise the re- 
mainder. After a night's march of fourteen miles, he 
entered Germantown at sunrise. A dense fog concealed 



BATTLE OF GEEMANTOWN. 425 

the outskirts of the town, and he was unable to learn the ™^P- 

precise position of the enemy, or that of his own troops. ' 

The British, taken by surprise and thrown into confusion, 1777. 
gave way on aU sides. The Americans, instead of pur- 
suing their advantage, lingered to attack a strong stone 
house, in which a few of the enemy had taken refuge, 
when an unaccountable panic seized them : the complete Oet. 
victory within their grasp was lost. The enemy now ral- ■*• 
lied and attacked in their turn ; but the Americans re- 
treated without loss, and carried off all their cannon and 
their wounded. 

Washington, in writing to Congress, says : " Every 
account confirms the opinion I at first entertained, that 
our troops retreated at the instant when victory was de- 
claring herself in our favor." And such is the testimony 
of many oflicers in their letters to their friends. 

The effect of the bold attack upon Germantown was 
soon perceptible, in the spirit of the Americans. One 
writes : " Though we gave away a complete victory, we 
have learnt this valuable truth, that we are able to beat 
them by vigorous exertions, and that we are far superior 
in point of swiftness ; we are in high spirits." Again we 
find expressions of confidence of a different character. An 
oflicer writes : " For my own part, I am so fully convinced 
of the justice of the cause in which we are contending, 
and that Providence, in its own good time, wUl succeed 
and bless it, that were I to see twelve of the United 
States overrun by our cruel invaders, I should stiU believe 
the thirteenth would not only save itself, but also work 
out the deliverance of the others." 

Howe immediately withdrew his troops from German- 
town. He must either obtain possession of the forts, that 
his fleet might come up, or evacuate the city for want of 
provisions. The Americans, on the other hand, resolved 
to defend the forts to the last extremity. Howe sent 
Count Donop, with twelve hundred picked men, grena- 



426 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

c^P. diers, to make an assault on Fort Mercer, while the men- 

of-war should open on Fort Mifflin and the floating bat- 

1777. teries. The outworks of Fort Mercer were not fully com- 
22 ' pleted, -flihen Count Donop suddenly appeared. Colonel 
Christopher Greene ordered the men — ^four hundred Ehode 
Island Continentals — to keep out of sight as much as 
possible. To deceive the enemy, he made a short stand 
at the outer works, and then retreated rapidly to the inner 
redoubt. The enemy advanced in two columns ; the 
Americans received them with a brisk fire, and then re- 
treated in haste. The Hessians thought the day their 
own, and with shouts of triumph rushed to storm the inner 
redoubt. They were met by an overwhelming discharge 
of grape-shot and musketry, and completely repulsed, with 
the loss of four hundred men ; the Americans lost but 
eight slain and twenty-nine wounded. After the battle, 
as an American officer was passing among the slain, a 
voice called out : " Whoever you are, draw me hence." 
It was Count Donop. A few days afterward, when he 
felt his end approaching, he lamented his condition. " I 
die," said he, " the victim of my ambition, and of the 
avarice of my sovereign." 

Fort Mifflin was commanded by Colonel Samuel Smith, 
of Maryland. In their attack uj)on it, the British lost 
two men-of-war — one of which was blown up, the other 
burned. 

Meantime the enemy received reinforcements from 
New York, and were able to take possession of another 
island, on which they erected batteries, and opened an 
incessant fire uijon Fort Mifflin. After a most undaimted 
defence, both forts were abandoned, and the enemy left to 
°q' remove the obstructions in the river at their leisure. 

On the twenty-ninth, Washington retired to White 
Marsh, fourteen miles from Philadelphia. Before going 
into winter-quarters, Howe thought to surprise his camp. 
A Quaker lady, Mrs. Darrah, overheard some British 



5. 



WINTER QUARTERS AT VALLEY FORGE. 427 

officers speaking of the intended expedition ; she imme- chap. 

diately gave Washington information of what was going 

on. Preparations were made to give the British a warm 1777. 
reception. A company was sent to harass them on their 
night-march. Finding themselves discovered, they hesi- 
tated to press on. The next day, Howe labored to draw Dec. 
Washington into the plain, where British discipline might 
be successful. When he saw the effort was useless, he 
retired to Philadelphia. 

Congress now summoned the nulitia to repair to the 
main army. A few days after Howe's withdrawal from 
Gcrmantown, Washington also retired to winter-quarters 
at Valley Forge, a rugged hollow on the Schuylkill, about 
twenty miles from Philadelphia. He could thus protect 
the Congress at York, as well as his stores at Reading. 

We now turn to relate events — most important in 
their influence — which, during the last few months, had 
transpired in the North. 



CHAPTEK XXXIII. 

THE WAR OF THE REVOLUTION— CONTINUED. 

Tlie Invasion from Canada. — Appointment of General Gates. — Burgoyne's 
Advance. — Jenny McCrea. — St. Leger besieges Fort Stanwis. — The 
Attempt to relieve it. — St. Leger retreats. — Battle of Bennington. — 
Change of Prospects. — Battle of Bchnius's Heights. — Ticonderoga be- 
sieged. — Burgoyne surrenders his Army at Saratoga. — The Prisoners.- 
Capture of Forts on the Hudson.— Schuyler. 

COAP. The unlooked for loss of Ticonderoga, with the disasters 
" that so rapidly followed, startled the people of the north- 

1777. ern States more than any event of the war. So little 
did Congress appreciate the diiSculties under which Schuy- 
ler and his officers labored, that they attributed these 
misfortunes to their incapacity. John Adams, then Presi- 
dent of the Board of War, gave expression to this feel- 
ing when he wrote : " We shall never be able to defend a 
post till we shoot a general." In the excitement of the 
moment. Congress ordered all the northern generals to be 
recalled, and an inquiry instituted into their conduct. 
The northern army would thus be without officers ; but, 
on a representation to this effect, Washington obtained 
a suspension of the injudicious order. Clamors against 
Schuyler were renewed with greater violence than ever. 
In truth, many members of Congress were influenced by 
an unreasonable prejudice, which had been excited in New 
England against him. When Washington, whose confi- 
dence in Schuyler was unshaken, declined to make any 



buegoyne's proclamation — JENNY m'crea. 429 

change in the Northern Department, " Congress made the chap. 

nomination ; the Eastern influence prevailed, and Gates . 

received the appointment, so long the object of his aspi- 1777. 
rations, if not intrigues." ' 

The correspondence between Washington and Schuy- 
ler makes known the plan upon which they agreed to repel 
the invaders. This was to keep bodies of men on their 
flank and rear, intercept their supplies, and cut off the 
detachments sent from the main army. We shall see how 
completely this plan succeeded. 

Confident of subduing the " rebels," Burgoyne, on his 
arrival at Fort Edward, issued a second proclamation, in 
which he called upon the people to appoint deputies to 
meet in convention at Castleton, and take measures to 
re-establish the royal authority. To counteract this, 
Schuyler issued a proclamation, threatening to punish 
those as traitors who in this manner should aid the enemy. 
Burgoyne's proclamation had no effect ; the hardy yeo- 
manry were too patriotic. The whole northern portion of 
the country was deeply moved, and the mihtia rallied 
to arms. 

The Indians of Burgoyne's army prowled about the 
country, murdering and scalping. A beautiful girl, Jenny 
McCrea, the daughter of a Scotch Presbyterian clergy- 
man, of New Jersey, who died before the war, was visiting 
a friend in the vicinity of Fort Edward. Her family were 
Whigs ; she was, however, betrothed to a young man, 
David Jones, a Tory, who had gone to Canada some time 
before, and was now a lieutenant in Burgoyne's army. 
When Fort Edward was about to be abandoned, her 
brother urged her to leave with the families of the neigh- 
borhood, who were going out of danger to Albany. She 
lingered ; she hoped, perhaps, to see her lover, but as 

' Washington Irving. 



430 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, danger drew nearer she prepared to comply ■with her 

' brother's request. 

1777. At the moment of leaving, a band of Indians, sent by 

Burgoync to harass the Americans, burst into the house, 
and carried her off a captive. Anxious for her safety, she 
promised her captors a reward, if tliey would take her to 
the British camp. On the way, the Indians quarrelled as 
to who should have the promised reward, and one of them 
in a rage killed the poor girl, and carried off her scalp. 
This murder sent a thrill of horror throughout the land. 
The people remembered the murders of former days, when 
the Indians were urged on by French influence ; and now 
they asked, Must those scenes be re-enacted by the savage 
hirelings of England, our mother country ? And they 
flocked in thousands to repel such an enemy. Thus " the 
blood of this unfortunate girl was not shed in vain. Ar- 
mies sprang up from it. Her name passed as a note of 
alarm along the banks of the Hudson ; it was a raUying- 
ing word among the green mountains of Vermont, and 
brought down aU her hardy yeomanry." ' 

St. Leger had passed up the Oswego, and was besieg- 
ing Fort Stanwix, or Schuyler. This fort was on the 
Aug. Mohawk, at the carrying-place to Lake Oneida. With 
St. Leger was Sir John Johnson, with his Koyal Greens, 
and his savage retainers, the Mohawks, under the cele- 
brated chief, Brant. This Brant had been a pupil in 
Wheelock's school — since Dartmouth College — establish- 
ed for the education of Indians and others. The fort was 
held by two New York regiments, under Colonels Ganse- 
voort and Willet. General Herkimer raised the militia 
of the neighborhood, and went to relieve the fort. But 
owing to the impatience of his men, he fell into an ambus- 
cade of Tories and Indians. Johnson's Greens were Tories 
from this vicinity, and neighbor met neighbor in deadly 

' Washington Irving. 



3. 



DEATH OF HEKKIMER RETKEAT OF ST. LEGER. 431 

conflict. It was one of the most desperate encounters of ™^p. 
the war ; quarter was neither given nor asked. There ' 



were instances, when all was over, where the death-grasp 1777. 
still held the knife plunged into a neighbor's heart. It 
seems as if the fight had been presided over by demons. 
The brave old Herkimer was mortally wounded, but lean- 
ing against a tree, he continued to encourage his men, tiU 
a successful sortie from the fort compelled the enemy to 
defend their own camp. The Americans retreated, taking 
with them their worthy commander, who died a few days 
after. 

The fort was still in a precarious condition, and must 
be relieved. When intelligence of this came to the army, 
Arnold volunteered to march to its aid. To frighten the 
Indians he employed stratagem. He sent in advance the 
most exaggerated stories of the number of his men, and 
proclaimed that Burgoyne had been totally defeated. As 
anticipated, the Indians deserted in great numbers. The 
panic became so great, that two days before Arnold arrived 
at the fort, St. Leger had retreated, leaving his tents 
standing. 22. 

General Schuyler now moved from Saratoga down to 
the mouth of the Mohawk, and there intrenched himself. 
The British had the full command of Lake George ; but, 
with all their exertions, they were nearly out of provisions. 
The distance from the upper end of that lake to the Hud- 
son was only eighteen miles, but so effectively had the 
draft-cattle and horses been removed, that it seemed al- 
most impossible to transport their baggage. 

To obtain horses for a company of dismounted German 
dragoons, and seize stores collected at Bennington, Ver- 
mont, Burgoyne sent a detachment of Indians and Tories, 
and five hundred Germans, under Lieutenant-colonel 
Baum. He had been told that the grain and provisions 
deposited in that place were but poorly guarded. He was 



432 HISTOEY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

c^AP. also made to believe that five to one of the people were 

royaKsts. 

1777. It was soon noised abroad that the enemy were on the 

way, and the Green Mountain Boys began to assemble. 
Colonel Stark having been slighted, as he thought, at the 
recent appointment of officers by Congress, had withdrawn 
from the Continental army. He was invited to take com- 
mand of the assembling yeomanry ; he accepted the invi- 
tation with joy. Expresses were sent in every direction 
to warn the people to drive off their cattle and horses, and 
conceal their grain and wagons, and also to Manchester, 
for Seth Warner to hasten to Bennington with his regi- 
ment. 

When Baum — who moved very slowly, his men stop- 
ping in the woods every few minutes to dress their lines — 
14. was within six miles of Bennington, he heard of Stark's 
approach ; he halted, began to intrench, and sent to Bur- 
goyne for reinforcements. Colonel Breyman was sent to 
his aid, with five hundred Hessians and two field-pieces. 
A severe storm prevented Stark from making an attack, 
and also retarded the march of Breyman and Warner. 
During the night the Berkshire miUtia joined Stark. An 
incident may show the spirit of the times : " Among these 
mihtia was a belligerent jjarson, full of fight, Allen by 
name, possibly of the bellicose family of the hero of Ticon- 
deroga." ' " General," cried he, " the people of Berksliire 
have been often called out to no purpose ; if you don't 
give them a chance to fight now they wUl never turn out 
again." " You would not turn out now, while it is dark 
and raining, would you .? " demanded Stark. " Not just 
now," was the rei3ly. " Well, if the Lord should once 
more give us sunshine, and I don't give you fighting 
enough," rejoined the veteran, " I'll never ask you to turn 



out again." 



' Irving. 



BATTLE OF BENNINGTON CHANGE OF PKOSPECTS. 433 

The next mominsr the sun did shine, and Stark drew £5,™ 



■^o 



xxxiir. 
out his forces. When he came in sight of the enemy, 

turning to his men he exclaimed : " There are the red- 1777. 
coats ! We must beat to-day, or Molly Stark's a widow." ^gf' 
The attack was made in both rear and front at the same 
time. The Indians and Tories generally fled to the woods. 
Baum defended his lines with great determination, and 
his field-pieces were well manned, but after two hours' 
fighting, the works were stormed. The Americans had 
no artillery, but they rushed up within a few yards of the 
enemy's cannon, the better to take aim at the gunners. 
At length Baum fell mortally wounded, and his men sur- 
rendered. 

Scarcely was the battle ended, when Breyman appeared 
on the one side, and Warner, who had marched all night 
in the rain, on the other. The fighting was renewed, and 
continued till night. Favored by the darkness, Breyman 
left his artillery and made the best of his way back to 
Burgoyne. About two hundred of the enemy were slain, 
and six hundred taken prisoners. A thousand stand of 
arms and four pieces of artillery fell into the hands of the 
Americans, who had but fourteen killed and forty wounded. 

What a change a few weeks had produced in the pros- 
pects of the two main armies ! To the American, the 
militia were flocking, the brigades from the Highlands had 
arrived, and Morgan with that terror of the Indians, his 
riflemen, five hundred strong. Disasters, in the mean 
while, crowded upon Burgoyne. The side enterprises of 
St. Leger and Baum had failed ; the New Hampshire and 
Massachusetts troops were pressing on toward Ticonderoga 
to cut off his supplies and intercourse with Canada. The 
Indians, in great numbers, were deserting. They had 
taken umbrage because their atrocities were to be hereafter 
restrained. Burgoyne was a gentleman, humane and cul- 
tivated ; he abhorred these outrages, and, to his honor be 
it said, preferred that the savages shoidd leave his army, 
28 



Sept. 



434 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

c^P. rather than they should remain and he unrestrained. The 

' disgrace of employing them belongs to his government at 

1777. home, not to him. 

It was at tliis juncture that Gates arrived to take 
command. He found the army in high spirits, nearly six 
thousand in number, and increasing every day. Schuyler 
met him with his usual highminded courtesy, explained 
fuUy the condition of the two armies, and offered him all 
the assistance he could give, hy his counsel or otherwise. 
So little could Gates appreciate such generous impulses, 
that, a few days after, when he called his first council of 
war, he omitted to invite Schuyler. 

Leaving the islands at the mouth of the Mohawk, 
Gates moved xip the river and took position on Behmus's 
Heights — a ridge of hills extending close to the river-bank 
and lying just south of Saratoga. There he intrenched 
his army by strong batteries on the right and left. 

Burgoyne had thrown a bridge of boats over the Hud- 
son, and led over tlie English portion of his army to Sara- 
toga, while the Hessians remained on the eastern side. 
Both divisions moved slowly down the river. There were 
deep ravines and woods between the two armies, and knolls 
covered with dense forests ; also, in one place, a cleared 
field. On the nineteenth it was announced that the 
enemy were in motion toward the American left. Here 
Arnold commanded, while Gates took charge of the right. 
It was the intention of the British to draw the Americans 
in that direction, and then to make an assault on their 
centre, when thus weakened, and cut their way through 
to Albany. Gates designed to wait the attack in his 
camp, but Arnold wished to hold the enemy in check, and 
not permit them to turn the American left. After much 
solicitation, he obtained permission from Gates to send 
Morgan with his riflemen to check the enemy. The rifle- 
men soon met, and put to flight the advance-guard, but 
pursuing them with two much ardor they came upon a 



BATTLK OF BEHMUS'S HEIGHTS. 435 

strong column, and were themselves forced to fall back in ^^ap . 

confusion. Arnold now came to their aid with other regi- 

ments, and soon he was contending almost hand to hand 1777. 
with the entire British right wing. He sent repeatedly 
to Gates for reinforcements, which the latter refused to 
send, and excused himself on the ground that he would 
thus weaken his own wing ; and Arnold, with only three 
thousand men, was left for four hours to sustain the attack. 
The severest conflict was around, and in the open field. 
The Americans were posted on the one side in a dense ' ^^ " 
wood, whei'e cannon could not be used ; the British on 
the opposite side in a thin pine grove, where they could 
use their artillery. When the British would move into 
the field, the American riflemen would drive them back, 
and when the Americans became the pursuers, the British 
would sweep their ranks with their cannon. A dozen 
times this field was lost and won. The riflemen repeat- 
edly took possession of the British artillery, but the rough- 
ness of the ground would not permit them to secure the 
guns ; and before they could turn them, they themselves 
were driven ofi" at the point of the bayonet. Night ended 
the contest ; the Americans withdrew to their camp, and 
the British remained on the field of battle. The latter 
lost more than five hundred, while the Americans lost 
less than three hundred. They looked upon the result as 
a triumph ; they had accomplished all they intended, and 
the enemy had failed in their designs. 

Two days before the battle of Behmus's Heights, a 
detachment of Lincoln's militia, under Colonel Brown, 
had seized the posts at the outlet of Lake George ; also a 
fleet of bateaux laden with jjrovisions for Burgoyne's ar- 
my, and three hundred prisoners. The same party united 
with another, and laid siege to Ticonderoga. 

Burgoyne's intercourse with Canada was thus cut off ; 
his provisions were fast diminishing, and his horses were 
dying for want of forage. At this moment of darkness 



436 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP came a gleam of light — a note from Sir Henry Clinton — 

informing him that in a few days he would make an effort 

1777. to ascend the Hudson. In hopes of maintaining his posi- 
tion until Clinton could reheve him, Burgoyne began to 
fortify his camp. For nearly three weeks the two armies 
watched each other. Almost every day advanced parties 
skirmished, but as Gates was deficient in ammunition, he 
hesitated to attack. 

Meantime there was trouble in the American camp. 
The soldiers attributed the success of the late battle to 
generalship of Arnold. But for some reason, jealousy 
perhaps, Gates removed him from his command. 

Hearing nothing ftirther from CHnton, Burgoyne re- 
solved to risk a battle, and cut his way through the oppos- 
ing force. He therefore sent a detachment of fifteen 
hundred picked men to take position within a mile of the 
Oct. American lines. A New Hampshire brigade attacked 
this division furiously, and Morgan, with his riflemen, 
managed to cut them off from their camp. 

Arnold was in his tent, brooding over the treatment 
he had received, and had almost resolved to leave the 
army. Suddenly he heard the noise of battle ; his ruhng 
jjassion was instantly on fire. Mounting his horse, he rode 
with all speed to the scene of conflict. Gates, who saw 
him as he dashed away, exclaimed : " He will do some 
rash tiling," and sent after him orders, by Major Wilkin- 
son, to return ; but in vain, — Arnold heard only the roar 
of battle. He rushed into the thickest of the fight, cheered 
on the men, who answered him with shouts of recognition. 
To those looking on, he seemed insane. By his exertions 
the British lines were broken again and again, but as often 
General Frazer would rally his men and renew the conflict. 
Presently Frazer fell mortally wounded by one of Morgan's 
riflemen. The whole line gave way, abandoned their can- 
non, and with the greatest effort regained their camp. In 



buegoyne's surrender. 437 

spite of a shower of grape and musketry, the Americans ^hap 

rushed headlong to the assault. Ai'nold rode directly into 

a sally-port, where his horse was shot under him, and he 1777. 
himself was severely wounded — a ball had shattered his 
leg. His men now fell back. A regiment of Massachu- 
setts men, more fortunate, forced their way through the 
German intrenchments, and maintained their position for 
the night, and secured a large amount of ammunition. 

The Americans slept on their arms, intending to renew 
the contest in the morning. But when morning came, 
Burgoyne's army, drawn up in order of battle, appeared 
on the heights in the rear. During the night, he had 
abandoned his sick and wounded, and skilfully led off his 
men. The next day he retreated to Saratoga, six miles 
distant, It was to cover this retreat that he ordered Gen- 
eral Schuyler's mansion and extensive saw mills to be 
burned. That he might continue his retreat, he sent a 
party to repair the bridges toward Fort Edward, but they 
found the way occupied by the Americans, who had taken 
nearly all the boats laden with provisions for his army. 
All the passes by which he could extricate himself were 
in the hands of his enemy ; cannon-balls and bullets fell 
almost every moment in his camp. He had oidy three 
days' provisions ; liis effective force was reduced to four 
thousand men, and they were dispirited, worn out with 
hunser and fatigue. Not a word had he heard from Clin- 
ton, while the American army, already twelve thousand 
strong, was increasing daily. 

■ Burgoyne now called a councd of war, which resolved 
to open negotiations with General Gates. Having heard 
that CUnton, a few days previous, had succeeded in taking Oct, 
two of the forts on the Hudson, and that he might possi- 
bly reach Albany, Gates was disposed to make liberal 
terms. The conditions of the surrender were : That the 
British army should march out with the honors of war ; 
that the soldiers should be taken to Boston, and thence 



13. 



438 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

\xxui *° England ; and they were not to serve against the 

United States until exchanged. The number of prisoners 

1777. was about six thousand ; the arms, artillery, and military 
stores were immense. The German regiments saved their 
colors ; they took them off their staves, and concealed 
them among the baggage of the Baroness de Eiedcsel.' 
The British garrison of Ticonderoga evacuated that place 
and retired to Canada. 

Congress refused to ratify the terms under which Bur- 
goyne surrendered. His soldiers, if taken to England, 
would doubtless be placed in garrison, while those thus 
relieved would be sent to reinforce Clinton at New York. 
Only Burgoyne himself, with two attendants, was per- 
mitted to proceed to England, while the soldiers were 
retained as prisoners. The following year they were 
marched to Charlottesville, in Virginia, where they were 
quartered in log huts, and where the greater number of 
them remained till the close of the war. 

As has been already stated, the garrisons in the High- 
lands were much weakened, by sending detachments both 
to the North and to the South. Sir Hemy Clinton had 
received the long expected reinforcements from England, 
and he now proposed to force his way up the Hudson, in 
order to unite with Burgoyne. On the day before that 
general's last battle, Clinton attacked and captured the 
Oct. Forts Montgomery and Clinton. Though the New York 
militia turned out well, the forts could not be maintained. 
Governor George Chnton commanded. He sent to Put- 
nam for aid, which he would have received had not the 
messenger turned traitor, and deserted to the enemy. 
Under the directions of Governor Tryon, Kingston, or 
Esopus, was burned. When these marauders heard that 



' This lady accompanied her husband, Baron de Kiedesel, during this 
campaign. She has left a thrilling narrative of the trying scenes at Sara- 
toga. 



SCHTTTLER A MEMBER OF CONGRESS. 439 

Burgoyne had surrendered, they retreated, setting fire to chap. 

every house within reach. This was about the very time 

that Burgoyne and his army were receiving liberal terms 1777. 
of capitulation. 

General Gates, in transmitting his report of the sur- 
render, did not send it to the Commander-in-cliief, as was 
his duty, and as courtesy required, but sent it directly to 
Congress. The soldiers in the army attributed the success 
of the battles at Saratoga to the skilful management of 
Arnold and Morgan. Gates did not even mention their 
names in his full dispatches to Congress. 

Soon after, General Schuyler insisted that his manage- 
ment of the Northern Department, previous to the ap- 
pointment of Gates, should be investigated. 

A Court of Inquiry was instituted, and he was not 
only acquitted of the charge of mismanagement of any 
kind, but with the highest honor. Though strongly urged 
by Congress to remain in the army, he declined. He had 
too much self-respect to continue in a position where he 
could be made a victim of unfriendly prejudice, yet too 
patriotic to relinquish his country's cause. Soon after he 
took his seat as a member of Congress. 



CHAPTEE XXXIV. 

WAR OF THE KEVOLUTION— CONTINUED. 

Sufferings at Valley Forge. — England disappointed ; conciliatory measures 
of Parliament. — The War presses hard upon the American People. — 
Difficulties and Jealousies in Congress. — The " Conway Cabal." — Baron 
Steuben. — Attempt to increase the Army. — Congress in Want of 
Funds. — Exchange of Lee ; his Treason. — Treaty with France. — ^En- 
couragements. — British Commissioners. — Philadelphia evacuated. — Bat- 
tle of Monmouth. — Misconduct of Lee. — The French Fleet. — Combined 
attack upon Newport fails. — Marauding Expeditions. — A British Fleet. — 
Massacre at Wyoming and Cherry Valley. — Invasion of Georgia. 

^^AP. The surrender of Burgoyne revived the hopes of the 

— Whigs, and sent dismay into the ranks of the Tories. 

1778. The American soldiers suffered intensely in their nide 
huts at Valley Forge. For days at a time without meat, 
and again without bread ; no medicines for the sick, nor 
comfortable lodgings. Many of the soldiers were so defi- 
cient in clothes that they could not lie down, lest they 
should freeze to death, but were forced to sit round their 
camp-fires. 

These were the men, few of whose names have ever 
reached us, but who clung to their country's cause in this 
hour of suifering, and who, in the day of battle, poured 
out their life's blood. They were, for the most part, the 
intelligent yeomanry of the land ; from the farm, from the 
workshop, from the merchant's store ; supporters of their 
own families, or sustainers of orphan brothers and sisters. 
What a contrast with the common soldiers of the invading 



THE FRIENDS OF AMEKICA IN PARLIAMENT. 441 



army ! They were, in part, tlie enlisted rabble of tlie chap. 

British Isles. In their bosoms there was not a throb of '. 

generous feeling, nor with them was it a question in what 1T78. 
cause, or on what field they fought ; and yet in the same 
army were others, even more degraded, drawn from " the 
shambles of petty German despots." 

The king and ministry were sanguine their plans, so 
wisely' laid, would be successfally carried out ; that at the 
end of the campaign the American army would be broken 
and scattered ; that they would have a line of posts ex- 
tending from Lake Champlain to the Bay of New York. 
Instead of the realization of these hopes, intelligence came 
that Burgojme had surrendered his entire army. The 
sensation produced in England was great indeed. Kumora 
stole into the country, that France, their ancient enemy, 
was about to aid the Americans ; that Holland was about 
to loan them money. England's pride was touched. 
Should she, who had made all Europe tremble, be baffled 
in her elforts to subdue her revolted colonists ? A new 
spirit was awakened ; many of the large commercial towns 
offered to raise regiments to supply the places of those 
surrendered at Saratoga, and present them to the king. 
Yet there were others, moved by compassion, and it may 
be by sympathy for the cause, who liberally subscribed 
money to relieve the wants of the American prisoners in 
England, whom the government had left to suffer for the 
necessaries of life. 

These sentiments had their effect on Parliament, and 
when it assembled, the friends of America renewed their 
assaults upon the policy of the king. They, from the first, 
had opposed the war as unjust, and had opposed the en- 
listing of Hessians ; but more especially did they denounce 
the inhuman policy of employing savages to murder and 
scalp their brethren beyond the Atlantic. There were 
other causes of complaint. The merchants clamored for 



442 HISTOEY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

S^X- redress ; the American trade was broken up ; debts could 

not be collected ; especially were they aggrieved that 

1V78. the slave-trade had been reduced four-fifths. American 
cruisers had already seized nearly six hundred of their 
vessels. These cruisers swarmed to such an extent, even 
in the British seas, that it became necessary to convoy by 
armed ships merchant vessels from one port of the king- 
dom to another. More than twenty thousand men had 
perished in the war ; more than a hundred millions of 
dollars had been expended ; their expectations had been 
greatly raised, but as yet nothing was gained. 

Lord North was constrained to bring in two bills, by 
which the king hoped to reconcile his American subjects. 
On this occasion, the former declared in the House that 
he himself had always been opposed to taxing the colonies. 
The king, in truth, was the prime mover and sustainer of 
the measure. One of these bills exem^jtcd the Americans 
from taxation, the other appointed commissioners to nego- 
tiate with them, for the purpose of restoring the royal 
authority. Thus was yielded, but ungraciously, the whole 
ground of the contest. 

The moment the French government heard of the 
passage of these bills, it proposed to acknowledge the In- 
dependence of the United States, and to make with them 
a treaty offensive and defensive. That the belligerents 
should fight and weaken each other, France was willing, 
but rather than they should become reconciled, she de- 
clared for the Americans. 

Though the war had cost England much, it had cost 
the Americans more. In many portions of the country, 
their ruthless invaders had laid waste their cultivated 
fields ; in other portions they were unsown, because the 
husbandmen were in the army ; property was wasting 
away ; debts were accumulating, with no prospect of pay- 
ment. The bills of credit issued by Congress were almost 



THE EMBARRASSMENTS OP CONGRESS. 443 

worthless. As with individuals, so with the State ; both char 

were bankrupt. On the sea-board, foreign commerce, the 

coasting trade, and the fisheries, were carried on at such 1778. 
risks, as to be almost annihilated. Nine hundred vessels 
had fallen into the hands of the enemy. The loss of life 
had been great ; not so many had perished on the field of 
battle, but disease, the deficiency of necessary comforts in 
hospitals, the want of clothes and of wholesome food, had 
as eifectively done the work of death. Multitudes died 
miserably, either in the jails and loathsome prison-ships 
of the enemy, or contracted diseases which clung to them 
through life. These calamities, instead of depressing the 
patriots, roused their indignant spirits to more determina- 
tion. They would listen to no terms of reconciliation 
with England, short of absolute independence. 

Congress was embarrassed more and more. That no- 
ble spirit of conciliation and mutual forbearance, which 
distinguished the members of the Old Congress, was not 
so prominent. Many of the ablest members had retired 
to take part in the recently organized governments of their 
own States, or to attend to their private affairs, lest their 
families should come to want ; and some had been sent 
on foreign missions, and some were in the army. 

There were other difiiculties ; jealousies between north- 
ern and southern men still existed in the army, and jeal- 
ousies between American officers and some of those of 
foreign birth. Congress, now numbering not more than 
twenty or thirty members, manifested an undue prejudice 
against the army, because the officers and soldiers earnestly 
urged that their wants should be supplied. Washington 
protested against this spirit, and showed the unreasona- 
bleness of such a prejudice. After remarking that in other 
countries the army was looked upon with suspicion in time 
of peace, he adds : " It is our jjolicy to be prejudiced 
against them (the troops) in time of war ; though they 



444 HISTOEY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, are citizens, having all the ties and interests of citizens." 
'. In violation of military usage, and contrary to his advice, 



1778. Congress made several promotions in the army, which not 
only sli< 
officers. 



only slighted hut wronged some of its hest and bravest 



While Washington labored at Valley Forge to keep 
the army together, and to prevent its disbanding from 
sheer necessity, a few were intriguing to remove him from 
the command. Some members of Congress, a few officers, 
and perhaps some others, joined in what was known as the 
" Conway Cabal," a name derived from the Irish adven- 
turer, already mentioned, who, if not the prime mover in 
the plot, was a pliant tool of others. The whole truth on 
the subject can never be fully known, as each actor ever 
after desired to conceal the part he had taken in the aifair. 
By means of anonymous letters, underhand appeals, de- 
signed to seduce the officers of the army, and other dis- 
honorable measures, the attempt was made to defame 
Washington ; to draw invidious comparisons between his 
military successes and those of Gates ; and to destroy 
that confidence which the people and soldiers reposed in 
his integrity. They dared not attack him openly, but by 
these means they hoped to disgust him with his office, and 
induce him to resign ; and General Gates, their hero, 
would receive the appointment of Commander-in-chief 
Thus the intrigue was carried on for months. General 
Mifflin and Gates himself were prominent in the scheme, 
but their efforts to win over Lafoyette signally failed. 
Anonymous letters were sent to Henry Laurens, President 
of Congress, and to Patrick Henry, then Governor of Vir- 
ginia ; but these high-minded men forwarded them at 
once to the Commander-in-chief Washington himself, 
though he knew, to some extent, of the existence of these 
plots, never publicly noticed them, nor turned aside a mo- 
ment from his great work. He was only anxious lest the 



iT^Ta 



THE CONWAY CABAL. 445 

enemy should learn of these dissensions. But when it ™^^ 

was proposed in Congress to appoint Conway inspector of ! 

the ai-my, he remonstrated, and in writing to Eichard 1 
Henry Lee, then a member, he says : " General Conway's 
merit as an officer, and his importance in this army, exist 
more in his own imagination than in reality." Yet Con- 
gress, under the influence of the Cabal, appointed Con- 
way " Inspector of the Armies of the United States ! " 
— with the rank of major-general. 

Ere long intelligence of these intrigues stole abroad. 
So great was the indignation which burst forth from the 
officers and soldiers, from the Legislatures of the States, 
and from the people themselves, that the Cabal cowered 
before it. 

The effect of this abortive attempt to remove Wash- 
ington from the chief command was only to strengthen his 
hold on the confidence of the nation. The invidious com- 
parisons made between his successes and those of Gates, 
were unjust, but that some persons should be influenced 
by them is not strange. " The Washington of that day 
was not Washington as we know him, tried and proved 
by twenty years of the most disinterested and most suc- 
cessful public services." The capture of Burgoyne at 
Saratoga was due to his plan of defence, as concerted with 
Schuyler, and not to General Gates. In his effort to save 
Philadelphia, he was surrounded with almost insurmount- 
able difficulties. His army, ill-equipped and imperfectly 
disciplined, was smaller than that of Howe's ; the scene 
of operation was in a region filled with Tories, who gave 
every facility to the British. He says himself : " Had the 
same spirit pervaded the people of this and the neighbor- 
ing States, as the States of New York and New England, 
we might have had General Howe nearly in the same sit- 
uation of General Burgoyne." 

We may here anticipate. Conway found his position 



446 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

c^P- unenviable, and he sent to Congress a note complaining 

that he had been ill-treated, and intimated that he would 

1778. resign because he was ordered to the Northern Depart- 
ment. His self-complacency never doubted but he would 
be urged to remain as " Inspector." But Congress, 
ashamed of having ever appointed him, interpreted it as 
a resignation, and gladly accepted it. No explanation of 
Conway, though urged in person, could induce them to 
change their decision. Some time afterward he was 
wounded in a duel with General Cadwallader, who had 
charged him with cowardice at the battle of Germantown, 
and also of derogatory remarks in relation to the Com- 
mander-in-chief. When he thought himself near death, 
Conway wrote to Washington : " You are in my eyes the 
great and good man. May you long enjoy the love, ven- 
eration, and esteem of these States, whose liberties you 
have asserted by your virtues." He recovered from his 
wound, and soon after he left the country. 

During the winter at Valley Forge, every effort was 
made to increase the army, and make it more efScient. 
To accomplish this end. Baron Steuben, a Prussian officer 
of great merit as a disciplinarian, was ai^pointed Inspector, 
with the rank of major-general. Congress called upon all 
the States, except Georgia and South Carolina, for their 
quotas of men to the continental army. These States 
were excused, except for local defence, in consideration of 
their large slave population. Several independent bodies 
of horse were raised by Count Pulaski and Henry Lee, 
who, because of his success and genius as a commander 
of light-horse, was known in the army as Light-Horse 
Hany. 

Baron Steuben soon infused his own spirit into the 
officers and men. He was prompt, and they obeyed him 
with alacrity. The tactics were taught by 'system, and 
the result was very gratifying. Congress designed to raise 



FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES. 447 

the army to sixty thousand, but it really never reached ^^ap. 

more than half that number. Many of the more expe- '. 

rienced officers were compelled by necessity to resign ; 1778. 
their families were dependent upon them, and they re- 
ceived scarcely any pay. These resignations were unfor- 
tunate. Washington appealed to Congress in behalf of 
the officers, and also of the soldiers. That body promised 
half pay for seven years to those officers who should serve 
to the end of the war, and to the soldiers thus serving a 
gratuity of eighty dollars. But the treasury was empty ; 
new bills of credit were issued, and the several States were 
called upon to levy taxes for the public expenses ; but 
the States were poor, and some of them were negligent. 
Their bills of credit continued to lose their value ; and to 
increase the evil, the British and Tories flooded the coun- 
try with counterfeits. The depreciation became so great, 
that a pair of boots cost more than seven hundred dollars in 
some of these bills of credit. Yet it shows the patriotism 
of the great mass of the people, that at this time of despond- 
ency and distress, the British, with their promises of gold 
and protection, could induce only three thousand five hun- 
dred Tories to enlist in their army. 

The office of quartermaster had been held during the 
last campaign by Mifflin ; but he was seldom at his post, 
and the department was in great confusion. Many diffi- 
culties had grown out of this neglect ; the army was irreg- 
ularly supplied with provisions and forage, whUe the 
country people suifered much on account of the demands 
made upon them for provisions by unauthorized foraging 
parties. At the urgent request of Washington, Congress 
appointed General Greene quartermaster. He assumed 
the duties of the office, so irksome to him, for one year, 
but without compensation. THic system with which 
Greene performed all his duties was soon apparent ; the 
army was regularly furnished with provisions and ammu- 



448 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CH^P- nition, so that it could be ready to march at a few min- 

utes notice. 

1778. 

General Lee was returned to the army in exchange for 

^ General Prescott. Lee was as selfish as he was destitute 
of the true nobleness of a man of honor. In a document 
in his own handwriting, written when a prisoner in New 
York, dated " March 29, 1777," and endorsed by Lord 
and Sir WUliam Howe as " Mr. Lee's plan," may be found 
the evidence of his willingness to ruin the cause of Ameri- 
can Independence. In this elaborate plan, he urged with 
great earnestness upon the British ministry to send a 
large force ; part of which to take position at Alexandria, 
on the Potomac, and part at Annapolis, on the Chesa- 
peake. Thus to separate the Northern and Southern colo- 
nies, and prevent them from aiding each other, while to 
oppose Burgoyne's advance would require all the force 
that New England could raise. He was willing to forfeit 
his life, if the measure did not speedily terminate the war 
and dissolve the " Congress Government." 

For some reason the ministry did not adopt Lee's sug- 
gestion, and the document was filed away among British 
state papers, to bear testimony to the dishonesty of the 
author three-quarters of a century after his death." 

In the Spring, Sir William Howe, after complaining 
that his government did not furnish him a sufiiciency of 
men and supplies, resigned his command, and Sir Heniy 
Cliaton was appointed his successor. With the exception 
of foraging parties, the British, as yet, made no military 
May movements. About this time came intelligence of the 
passage of Lord North's conciliatory bills, and that the 
commissioners would soon be on their way to open nego- 
tiations. The substance gf these bills was circulated very 
extensively by zealous Tories. Congress ordered them to 

' " Treason of General Charles Lee," (a forthcoming work,) by Professor 
George H. Moore. 



TREATY WITH FEANCE — BRITISH COMMISSIONERS. 449 

be printed in the newspapers, accompanied by a severe ^hap. 
criticism, furnished by a committee of the House. 

Presently came the news that France had acknow- Ij^S. 
ledged the independence of the States, and had entered 30.' 
into a treaty with them of commerce and defence. The 
hght had dawned upon the American cause ! A thrill of 
joy went throughout the land. 

The treaty between the United States and France Mar 
produced a great sensation in England. It is madness to 
protract the war ! said the friends of America. Let us 
acknowledge the independence of the States, and obtain 
their good wUl by liberal terms of commerce, lest our great 
rival win them to herself But no ! the idea was scouted ; 
the war must be prosecuted, blood must still flow. 

In June came the commissioners to treat under Lord 
North's conciliatory bills. They were the Earl of Carhsle, 
William Eden, brother of the late governor of Maryland, 
and George Johnstone, formerly governor of Florida, and 
who had been a friend of the Americans in Parliament. 

The commissioners sent their proposals to Congress, 
but that body refused to treat, until the independence of 
the States was acknowledged, and the British troops with- 
drawn. As the commissioners could not grant these de- 
mands, negotiations were not commenced. Some of the 
commissioners indirectly resorted to bribery, and by means 
of a loyalist lady of Philadelpliia, made propositions to 
General Joseph Keed, of ten thousand pounds, and any 
office in the colonies he might choose, if he would aid the 
object of the mission. To which offer he made this mem- 
orable reply : " I am not worth purchasing, but such as I 
am, the king of England is not rich enough to buy me." 

When it was known that a French fleet was expected 
on the coast, the British hastened to evacuate Philadel- 
phia, and retreat to New York. Most of the stores, to- is. 
gether with the sick and wounded, were sent round by 
29 



450 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, water, while the army, twelve thousand strong, took up 

. its line of march across New Jersey. Washington was 

1778. soon in pursuit. The weather was excessively warm, and 
the heavily armed British moved very slowly. The Ameri- 
cans soon came up. A council of war was held, and the 
question discussed, whether to attack the enemy and 
bring on a general engagement, or merely harass them on 
their march. Washington, with Greene and Lafayette, 
was in favor of the former manner of attack, and Lee, 
for some reason, strenuously advocated the latter. When 
it was decided to bring on a general engagement, Lee, as 
his advice had not been taken, declined to take any com- 
mand in the affair. 

Washington therefore sent Lafayette forward with two 
thousand men, to take position on the hills, and thus 
crowd Sir Henry Clinton off into the plain. The next 
morning Lee had changed his mind, and asked to be given 
a command. Washington sent him forward with two 
brigades, and when he came up with Lafayette, being of 
superior rank, he assumed the command of the entire ad- 
vance division. 

The British encamped near Monmouth Court-house. 
There were morasses and groves of woods in the vicinity, 
a difficult place in which to manceuvre troops. 

When Lee advanced, he found a force of apparently 
about two thousand on the march, but a portion of the 
woods obstructed a fuU view. He made his arrangements 
to cut off this force, and sent word of his movements to 
Washington. But when he came upon the division, he 
found it much stronger than he anticipated — in truth, 
Clinton had thrown this strong force of German and Brit- 
ish there, for the express purpose of giving the Americans 
a severe check. 

The battle had scarcely begun, before occurred a misap- 
prehension of orders. The Americans began to retreat, and 
Lee, in the hurry of the moment, forgot to send word of 



June 
28. 



BATTLE OF MONMOUTH. 451 

the movement to Washington, who was advancing with ™^f^ 

the main body to his support. The retreat had passed 

into ahnost a flight. When Washington met the troops 1778. 
he inquired why they were retreating. The reply was, 
they did not know, but tliey had received the order. Sus- 
liecting that this movement was designed to mar tlae plan 
of attack, he spurred on, and presently met Lee, of whom 
he demanded, in a stern manner : " What is the meaning 
of all this, sir ?" Lee, disconcerted, hesitated for a mo- 
ment to reply, and was asked again. He then began to 
explain, that the confusion had arisen from disobedience 
of orders ; and, moreover, he did not wish to meet the 
whole British army. Washington rejoined, " that he un- 
derstood it was a mere covering party," adding : " I am 
very sorry that you undertook the command imless you 
meant to fight the enemy." Lee replied, that he did not 
think it prudent to bring on a general engagement. 
" Whatever your opinion may have been," replied Wash- 
ington, disdainfully, " I expect my orders to be obeyed." 
This conversation took but a moment. 

Wasliington hastily formed the men on a rising ground. 
The enemy came up in force, and other divisions of the 
Americans also mingled in the conflict. Night ended the 
battle. The Americans slept upon their arms, exjjecting 
to renew the contest in the morning. But Clinton skil- 
fully drew off his army during the night, and at daylight 
was far on his way. Washington did not attempt to pur- 
sue, as the weather was intolerably warm, and the march 
through a sandy region, destitute of water. The Ameri- 
cans lost altogether about two hundred, many of them on 
account of the extreme heat : the British about three 
hundred in the battle, and on the march two thousand 
Hessians deserted. 

After refreshing his men, Washington marched across 
New Jersey, passed the Hudson, and took position at White 
Plains, to be ready to co-operate with the French fleet 



452 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

c^jP. in an attack upon New York. Lord Howe had scarcely 

left the Delaware when Count D'Estaing appeared with a 

IVVS. squadron. While at sea, D'Estaing communicated with 
Washington by letter. Finding that the British had 
evacuated Philadelphia, he put to sea, and soon anchored 
oilf Sandy Hook. 

The day after the battle, Lee wrote a note, disre- 
spectful in its tone, to Washington, who replied ; and this 
produced another note from Lee, still more offensive, de- 
manding a court of inquiry, and in the mean time inti- 
mating that he should retire from the army. The court 
found him guilty of disobedience of orders and disrespect 
to the Commander-in-chief, and sentenced him to be sus- 
pended for one year from the army. He retired to his 
estate in Virginia, and there beguiled his leisure in writing 
scurrilous letters concerning the army and its commander. 
When his sentence of suspension was about to expire, he, 
for some fancied neglect, wrote an insolent letter to Con- 
gress. That body immediately dismissed him from the 
army. Thus ended the military career of Genei'al Charles 
Lee. A few years afterward he died in Philadelphia. His 
life had been that of the soldier ; and in the delirium of 
death he murmured, " Stand by me, my brave grena- 
diers ! " 

The French fleet brought Monsieur Gerard as ambas- 
sador to the United States, and also Silas Deane, Doctor 
Franklin, and Arthur Lee, with whom, on the part of the 
United States, the treaty had been made. 

Howe ran his ships within the bay of New York, and 
as the large vessels of the French could not pass the bar 
at Sandy Hook, the combined attack upon the city was 
abandoned. Instead, it was resolved to make an attack 
upon Newport, on the island of Khode Island. This was 
a British stronghold and depot, and garrisoned by sbc 
thousand men, under General Pigot. The brutality of 
these British troops had excited against them the bitterest 



THE FAILURE AT NEWPORT. 453 

hatred, and when called upon by General SulKvan, who ^hap. 

was in command, thousands of the militia of the surround- , 

ing country flocked to avenge their wrongs. John Han- 1778. 
cock, on this occasion, led the Massachusetts militia, as 
general. D'Estaing sailed to Newport, where he arrived a 
week before the force sent by Washington under Greene 
and Lafayette. This imavoidable delay ruined the enter- 
prise. When the Americans appeared, the British guard 
left the works on the north end of the island, and retired 
to their inner lines. The Americans immediately passed ^S- 
over and occupied the abandoned works. The very day 
of this occupancy. Lord Howe appeared with a fleet, and 
D'Estaing went out to give him battle. They both ma- 
noeuvred their fleets to obtain the advantage of position, 
when a terrible storm arose and separated them. 12. 

In the mean time, the Americans moved near the ene- 
my's works, and commenced to cannonade them, expect- 
ing that the French fleet would soon return to their aid. 
D'Estaing did return, but instead of landing the foiir -"• 
thousand troops on board, he set sail for Boston to refit 
his vessels, which the late storm had shattered. 

The Americans now abandoned their lines, and by 
night retreated, repulsing the division of the enemy sent 
in pursuit. It was time, for the British were strongly 
reinforced from Nev*^ York by four thousand troops, under 
Clinton himself 

To deceive the enemy, and escape safely from the 
island, Sullivan sent a party to occupy a hill in sight of 
the British lines. The party began to throw up intrench- 
ments, and in the evening pitched their tents ; but as 
soon as it was night, they silently decamped, and in the 
morning were all safely on the main land. 

A great clamor arose because D'Estaing failed to co- 
operate with the Americans at Newjiort. Subsequent 
investigation seemed to justify him ; at least, Congress 
passed a resolution ajiproving his conduct. This may, 



454 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. liQwever, have been mere policy, as Congress was unwil- 

ling to offend the French by passing a vote of censure. 

1778. The war degenerated into marauding expeditions 

against defenceless villages. The first object of this bar- 
barity was the island of Martha's Vineyard, whose inhabi- 
tants were stripped of every thing the robbers could carry 
off. The towns of New Bedford and Fair Haven were 

Sojit. wantonly burned, and also seventy vessels in their ports. 
Scenes of cruelty were enacted in New Jersey, where an 
Oct. American regiment of horse was cut to jjieces, Tind a com- 
pany of infantry, when crying for quarter, was butchered 
with the bayonet without mercy. 

When it was certainly known that a French fleet had 
sailed to the United States, the English ministry sent 
Admiral Byron in pursuit. He appeared off Boston har- 
bor while the French were refitting, but did not dare at- 
tack them, and the French were unwilling to come out of 
their place of security. Lord Howe resigned his command 
into the hands of Admiral Byron. At length a storm 
arose which scattered the English fleet ; then the French 
Nov. slipped out of the harbor, and sailed to the West Indies. 
On the same day, five thousand British troops sailed from 
New York for the same destination. Three weeks after, 
another expedition of three thousand sailed for Georgia ; 
yet the British army remaining was far more numerous 
than the forces under Washington. 



1. 



-"&" 



During the summer, one of the most atrocious outra- 
ges which disgraced the war, was committed upon the 
settlement of Wyoming, situated in a beautiful valley on 
the Susquehanna. There had been previously much con- 
tention among the inhabitants, some of whom were Tories. 
These had been seized, and sent out of the settlement ; 
July, they took their revenge with more than savage ferocity. 
After the defeat of St. Leger at Fort Schuyler, Fort 
Niagara became the head-quarters of Tories and Indians ; 



DESTRUCTION OF WYOMING. 455 

at that place was planned tlie murderous expedition, ^^ar 

The party was guided by Tories who had lived in the val- '. 

ley. The chief leader in this expedition was John Butler, 1778. 
a Tory notorious for his cruelty. His force, about eleven 
hundred, was composed of his Eangers, Johnson's Greens, 
and Mohawks. There were block-houses in the settle- 
ment ; to these the people fled in times of danger. Nearly 
all the able-bodied men were absent in the army under 
Washington. There were left only the women and chil- 
dren, the aged and infirm. Suddenly the savage enemy 
appeared at various points in the valley, and commenced 
murdering the husbandmen in the fields, and burning the 
houses. It had been rumored that such an attack was 
meditated, and a small force had already been dispatched 
by Washington to defend the settlement. They had 
themselves, under Zebidon Butler, (no relation of John 
Butler), about three hundred and fifty men. Unfortunate- 
ly, Butler did not wait the arrival of the reinforcement, 
but sallied forth to restrain the ravaging of the country. 
Intelligence of this intended attack was conveyed to the en- 
emy, and they were fully prepared. The fight began, and 
the Tories were forced to give way, but the Indians passed 
round a swamp toward the rear. Butler, seeing this move- 
ment, ordered his men to fall back, lest they should be 
surrounded. This order was mistaken for one to retreat ; 
all was thrown into confusion, and a portion, panic-strick- 
en, fled. They were pursued by the Tories and Indians 
with unrelenting fury. The whole valley was desolated. 
Those of the people who escaped, fled to the mountains, 
and there women and children perished by hundreds, 
while some, after incredible sufferings, reached the settle- 
ments. 

A month later, similar scenes were witnessed at Cherry 
Valley, in New York. The Tories and Indians were 
equally a^ cruel as at the Wyoming massacre. The peo- Aug. 
pie were either murdered or carried into captivity. All 



456 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

C^P- the region of the upper Susc[uehamia, the Delaware, and 

the Mohawk, was at the mercy of the savages. 

1778. Jq the latter part of November, Clinton sent Colonel 

Campbell, with two thousand men, to invade Georgia. 
He landed three miles below Savannah, the capital, on the 
twenty-ninth of December. 

General Robert Howe, who was in command, could 
make but little resistance. He and his men behaved no- 
bly, but a negro guiding the British by a path through a 
swamp, they gained the rear of the Americans, who were 
now thrown into confusion and defeated. The town of 
Savannah fell into the hands of the victors. 

General Prevost, who commanded in East Florida, 
was ordered by CUnton to pass across to Savannah, and 
there join Campbell and assume the command. On his 
march, Prevost took Suubury, a fort of some importance. 
Arriving at Savannah, he sent Campbell to take possession 
of Augusta. Thus was Georgia subdued, in the space of 
a few weeks. The British now transferred their active 
operations to the South, which became the principal thea- 
tre of the war till its close. 

General Benjamin Lincoln, who had been appointed 
to take command of the Southern Department, arrived 
about this time. The delegates from South Carolina and 
Georgia had soUcited his appointment. 



CHAPTEE XXXV. 

■R'AR OF THE REVOLUTION— CONTINUED. 

Dissensions in Congress. — Expedition against the Indians. — Tlie War in the 
South. — Augusta reoccupied. — Charleston threatened. — Marauding Ex- 
peditions sent to Virginia, and up the Hudson. — Tryon ravages Con- 
necticut. — Capture of Stony Point by Wayne. — Lee surprises the Gar- 
rison at Jersey City. — Combined assault upon Savannah. — Daniel 
Boone ; Kentucky. — George Rogers Clarke ; Kaskaskia. — ^Pioneers of 
Tennessee ; Nashville. — John Paul Jones. 

The American army was distributed, at the end of the (-.g^p 
year, in a series of cantonments, which extended from the xxxv. 
east end of Long Island Sound to the Delaware ; thus .^^n 
effectually enclosing the British forces. The head-quarters 
were in a central position at Middlebrook, New Jersey. 
The British were so strong at New York and Newport, 
that to attack them with success was hopeless. The 
French fleet had been of no practical use to the Ameri- 
cans, and now Count D'Estaing took with him his land 
troops to the West Indies. 

Four years had passed since the war commenced ; the 
finances of the country were still in a wretched condition. 
The enemy held important places, and were watching for 
opportunities to pillage. In the South, the Tories were 
specially active. Yet there were other elements at work, 
more injurious to the cause than even these. 

Congress was filled with dissensions. The prospect 



458 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

^^AP. of assistance from France caused many to relax their 

efforts, as though the war was virtually ended. Wash- 

1779. ington wrote, at the beginning of the year : " Our affairs 
are in a more distressed, ruinous, and deplorable condition 
than they have been since the commencement of the war." 
A large majority of Congress was carried away with the 
scheme of joining with the French in an expedition against 
Canada. But when the matter was laid before the Com- 
mander-in-chief, at a glance he saw the difficulties of the 
undertaking, and, with the comprehensive views of the 
true statesman, pointed out the disadvantages of having, 
on this continent, a power different in nation, in religion, 
and in customs from the Americans. Moreover, he desired 
the people of the United States to be as little under obli- 
gations as possible to other nations. 

For the ensuing campaign, it was evident the British 
intended to confine themselves to pillaging expeditions, 
and to cripple the Union in the South. Washington now 
recommended an expedition against the Indians, to punish 
them for their outrages at Wyoming and other places. It 
was to be conducted on their own plan — to invade and 
lay waste their territory. 

In April a body of troops suddenly invaded and deso- 
lated the territory of the Onondagas. The principal ex- 
pedition, under Sullivan, went against the Senecas, to 
revenge their attack on Wyoming. With five thousand 
men he penetrated their country, met them under Brant, 
with their worthy alHes, the Tories, Johnson and Butler, 
at Newtown, now Elmira, and completely routed them. 
Without giving them time to recover from their panic, 
SulUvan pursued them into the valley of the Genesee, and 
in a few weeks destroyed more than forty of their villages, 
all their cornfields, gardens, and orchards. It was a ter- 
rible vengeance ; but the only means to' prevent their 
depredations on the settlements. 



Aug. 
29. 



I 



CHARLESTON THREATENED. 459 

Want of food compelled the Indians and Tories to chap. 

XXXV". 

emigrate to Canada, yet they soon after renewed their \ '. 

depredations, and continued them, with their usual fero- 1779. 
city, till the end of the war. In the mean while, another 
successful expedition was conducted against the Indian 
towns on the Alleghany, above Pittsburg. 

As in the North, so in the South, the British entered 
into alliances with the Indians — there they induced the 
Creeks to join them. The Tories desolated the upper part 
of Georgia ; but as they drew near Augiista, Colonel 
Pickens suddenly attacked and routed them. Seventy- 
five were made prisoners and condemned to death, as trai- 
tors ; however, only five were executed. Feb. 

The next mouth, General Lincoln sent General Ashe, 
with two thousand men, to drive Campbell from Augusta. 
Campbell, hearing of his approach, retreated in haste, and 
Ashe pursued, but was himself surprised, some days after, 
and his entire force dispersed. The British now reoccupied 
Augusta, and opened a communication with the Chero- 
kees and the South Carolina Tories. 

While Lincoln recruited liis army, Prevost marched 
slowly in the direction of Charleston ; and Lincoln has- 
tened to the aid of that city. The inhabitants were 
indefatigable in their exertions to give the foe a warm 
reception. They threw iip intrenchments across the neck May. 
of the peninsula, on which their city stood. Presently, 
Prevost arrived and summoned them to surrender, but 
they boldly refused. 

He prepared to enter upon a regular siege, but hearing 
of the approach of Lincoln, he first ravaged the planta- 
tions in the vicinity, carried off an immense amount of 
plunder, and three or four thousand slaves, and then re- 
treated toward Savannah, by way of the islands along the 
coast. As the hot season approached, hostilities ceased. Jnie- 

While these events were in progress in the South, 
Clinton was fulfilling his instructions from the ministry to 



4. 



460 HISTOKY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP- send out iDlundering expeditions. One of these, under 

General Mathews, he sent from New York, with twenty- 

1779. five hundred men, into Virginia. The fleet entered the 
g^^ Chesapeake, the troops landed, and plundered the towns 
of Portsmouth and Norfolk. A little higher up, at Gos- 
port, was established a navy-yard by the State ; there 
thejf burned one hundred and thirty merchant ships, and 
several war-vessels on the stocks. The facilities afforded 
the enemy by the rivers to pass from point to point, and 
the danger of the slaves rising, prevented much resistance. 
When these soldiers returned, Chnton went up the 
Hudson, against the posts Verplanck's and Stony Points. 
These forts protected King's Ferry, a very important 
crossing-place, on the main road from the eastern to the 
middle States. The works at Stony Point — not yet fin- 
ished — were abandoned ; and the garrison at Verplanck's 
Point were forced to surrender. 

The next expedition, of twenty-five hundred men, was 
under Tryon, whose barbarities, on such occasions, have 
justly rendered his name infamous. Tryon plundered 
New Haven, and burned Faii-field and Norwalk. In the 
•Tuly course of a few days, he burned two hundred and twenty- 
five private dwellings, half as many barns and stores, and 
five places of worship. Many of the inhabitants were 
murdered, or subjected to the brutal passions of the sol- 
diers. This " journeyman of desolation," so insensible to 
the promptings of humanity, contemplated these outrages 
with pleasure, and afterward even claimed for himself the 
honor of having exercised mercy, because he did not burn 
every dwelling on the coast of New England. 

Clinton had been grossly deceived by the Tories, who 
assured him that the principal inhabitants of Connecticut 
were so much dissatisfied because their homes were not 
protected by the American army, that they were about to 
withdraw from the cause, and put themselves under Brit- 



CAPTUEE OF STONY POINT. 461 

ish protection. And it was thought a few more such chap. 
expeditions would accomplish this result. 

Washington now devised a plan to recapture Stony 1779. 
Point. The fort was so situated, that to surprise it seemed 
an impossibility. He proposed to General Wayne — " Mad 
Anthony " — to undertake the desperate enterprise. The 
proposal was accepted with delight. Washington himself, 
accompanied by Wayne, carefully reconnoitred the Point. 
The attempt was to be made at the hour of midnight. 
Every precaution to secure success was taken, even the 
dogs of the neighborhood were privately destroyed. A 
negro, who was in the habit of visiting the fort to sell 
fruit, and also as a spy for the Americans, was to act as 
guide. July 

The men, with fixed bayonets, and, to remove the pos- 1*^- 
sibUity of discovery, with unloaded muskets, approached 
in two divisions, at the appointed hour. The negro, 
accompanied by two soldiers, disguised as farmers, ap- 
proached the outer sentinel, and gave the countersign. 
The sentinel was seized and gagged, and the second 
treated in the same manner ; at the third, the alarm was 
given, but the impetuosity of the Americans was so great, 
that in a few minutes the two divisions from the opposite 
sides of the fort met in the centre. They took more than 
five hundred prisoners. This was one of the most brilliant 
exploits of the war. How great was the contrast between 
the humanity of Wayne and the savage cruelty of the 
British in their midnight attacks with the bayonet ! Sted- 
man, the British historian, records that " the conduct of 
the Americans upon this occasion was highly meritorious, 
for they would have been fully justified in putting the 
garrison to the sword ; not one man of which was put to 
death but in fair combat." When Clinton heard of the 
taking of Stony Point, he hastily recalled Tryon, who was 
about to move against Now London. 

The exploit of Wayne was speedily followed by another 



462 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, daring adventure by Light Horse Harry. He had learned 

'. by reconnoitring, and by means of spies, the exact condi- 

1779. tion of the garrison at Paulus Hook, now Jersey City, 

opposite New York. Thinking themselves secure from 

attack, because of their nearness to the main army, the 

officers, as well as men, were careless. Lee asked permis- 

-'^''S- sion to strike a blow within " cannon-shot of New York." 
18 

Washington directed liim "to surprise the fort, bring off 

the garrison immediately, and effect a retreat," and not 
to linger, lest he should himself be overpowered. About 
two o'clock in the morning they made themselves masters 
of the fort, and secured one hundred and fifty prisoners, 
with a loss to themselves of only two men. Soon alarm 
guns roused the garrison in New York, and Lee com- 
menced his retreat. The exploit redounded much to his 
credit, and that of his company of horse. In compliment; 
Congress voted Wayne, as well as Lee, a gold medal. 

An effort was again made to take Savannah. Count 
D'Estaing appeared with his fleet from the West Indies, 
and General Lincoln marched to aid in the siege. Several 
North Carolina regiments had been sent by the Com- 
mander-in-chief, and the militia turned out well. Prevost 
made every exertion to defend himself But D'Estaing 
soon grew impatient ; he must return to the West Indies 
lest the British fleet might accom23lish some enterprise of 
importance. The siege must be either abandoned, or the 
Oct, town taken by assault. The latter was resolved upon ; 
9- and it was undertaken with great disadvantages staring 
the assailants in the face. After they had carried some 
of the outworks, the Americans were forced to retire. 
Count Pulaski, when gallantly leading his men, was mor- 
tally wounded. The French, who were at the post of the 
greatest danger, were also repulsed, and D'Estaing him- 
self was wounded. Lincoln now retreated to Charleston, 
disbanded the militia, and the Count sailed to the West 
Indies. Thus, for the second time, the French, under the 



KXPEDITION TO THE SOUTH — DANIEL BOONE. 463 

same officer, failed to co-operate efficiently with the cbap . 

Americans. Very great dissatisfaction was excited at this 

throughout the country. 1779. 

Clinton obeyed his instructions from home, evacuated 
Newport, and concentrated his main force at New York, 
which place he thought in danger of a combined attack 
from the Americans and French. In truth, Washington, 
in expectation of such aid, had called out the militia for 
that iiurpose, but when he heard that the French had 
sailed for the West Indies, he dismissed them, and went 
into winter-quarters near Morristown, New Jersey. 25 ' 

When the coast was clear, Clinton sent seven thou- 
sand men by sea to Savannah, and soon after sailed him- 
self with two thousand more, leaving a powerful garrison 
in New York, under the command of Knyphausen. ^J'°- 

Some years before the commencement of the war, 
Daniel Boone, the bold hunter and pioneer, had visited 
the region of Kentucky. Attracted by the fertility of the 
soil, the beauty of the forests, and the mildness of the 
chmate, in connection with others, he formed a settlement 
on the Kentucky river. Thither Boone took his wife and 
daughters, the first white women in that region. There, l'^'^^- 
during the war, these bold pioneers were in perils, fighting 
the Indians and levelling the forests. Harrod, another bold 
backwoodsman, founded Harrod sburg. The territory on 
the lower Kentucky, had been purchased of the Cherokees. 
Though Dunmore, the governor of Virginia, denounced 
the purchase as illegal, yet in spite of his i3roclamation, 
and the hostility of the Indians, the people, in numbers, 
emigrated to that delightful region. 

The Indians at the West were becoming hostile under 
the influence of British emissaries. The principal actor 
in this was Hamilton, the commandant at Detroit, against 
which place Congress resolved to send an expedition. 



464 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. While this was under consideration, George Rogers Clarke, 

an adventurous Virginian, set out from Pittsburg on an 

1779. expedition against Kaskaskia, an old French town on the 
Mississippi. Clarke, though a backwoodsman of Ken- 
tucky, acted under the authority of Virginia. With two 
hundred men he floated in boats down the Ohio to the 
Falls, and there, on an island, thirteen famUies, his follow- 
ers, made a settlement. Joined by some Kentuckians, he 
proceeded down the river, to near its mouth. Then hiding 
his canoes, the company struck through the woods to Kas- 
kaskia. This town was claimed by the English since the 
surrender of Canada. The inhabitants were at once con- 
ciliated, when they heard of the alliance between the 
United States and France, and when they saw their relig- 
1778. ion respected and their property protected. Clarke also 
° ^' entered into friendly relations with the Spaniards west of 
the Mississippi, at St. Louis. When he returned to the 
Falls, he budt a stockade fort on the south side of the 
Ohio ; this was the germ of the present city of Louisville. 
Virginia claimed the region north of the Ohio, as con- 
quered territory, erected it into the county of Ilhnois, and 
made arrangements to keep possession of it. 

Other bold pioneers were, about the same time, pene- 
trating the wilderness further south. James Robertson, 
from North Carolina, who, eleven years before, led emi- 
grants to settle on the head-waters of the Tennessee, now, 
May. with a company, crossed over into the vaUey of the Cum- 
berland. They passed down that river till they found a 
desirable location, a bluff on its south shore. The com- 
pany altogether amounted to nearly fifty persons. There, 
in the midst of the primeval forest, more than a hundred 
miles fi-om the nearest settlement, they cleared some land 
and planted corn. Three of their number remained to 
guard the growing crop, and the others returned to bring 
their famUies. Emigration now began : one j^arty set out 
through the wilderness, driving their cattle before them ; 



NASHVILLE — JOHN PAUL JONES. 465 

another, with the women and children, went on board of chap. 

' XXXV. 

boats, on the head-waters of the Tennessee. They were 

to pass down that river to its mouth, thence find their 1T79. 
way up the Cumberland to the chosen spot. A laborious 
journey of more than six months brought them to their 
anxious friends. The settlement increased with great 
rapidity, notwithstanding the hostility of the Indians. 
Such were the beginnings of the now prosperous and 
beautiful city of Nashville. 

Congress, from time to time, made efforts to increase 
the continental navy, but many of the vessels had been 
lost. The privateers had aroused the ire and the vigUance 
of the entire British navy. Yet some American cruisers, 
fitted out in France, fearlessly sailed in quest of the enemy. 
The most distinguished of these commanders was John 
Paul Jones, a native of Scotland, but who had been 
brought to Virginia in childhood. He was one of the first 
officers commissioned by Congress for the navy. Jones, in 
command of the Kanger, of eighteen guns, spread terror 
around England, and even made a descent on the coast of 
Scotland. 

A small squadron of five French and American ships 
were fitted out at L'Orient, and placed under his com- 
mand, to cruise in the British seas. Off the coast of 
Scotland, he met with a fleet of merchantmen, convoyed 
by a frigate and another armed vessel. It was night, and g^pj 
the battle, the most desperate in the annals of naval war- 23. 
fare, lasted three hours. Jones lashed his flag-ship, the 
Kichard, to the British frigate Serapis, and thus, muzzle 
to muzzle, they poured into each other their broadsides. 
At length, both the English ships surrendered. Jones' 
flag-ship was so damaged, that in a few hours it went to 
the bottom. 



30 



CHAPTEE XXXVI. 

WAR OF THE REVOLUTION— CONTINUED. 

Hardships of tlie Soldiers. — British Success at the South.— Colonel Tarle- 
ton. — Charleston capitulates. — Defeat at Wa.xhaws.— Rev. James Cald- 
well. — Maraud into Jersey. — Fleet at Newport. — The South unsubdued ; 
her partisan Leaders. — Gates sent to take Command. — Disastrous Bat- 
tle of Camden. — Death of De Kalb. — Sumter's Success and Defeat. — 
Treason of Arnold. — Major xVndre. — Movements of Cornwallis. — Colonel 
Ferguson. — Battle of King's Mountain. — Tarleton repulsed. — General 
Greene in Command. — Rancorous Spirit between the Whigs and To- 
ries. — British triumphant. — Aifairs in Europe. — Henry Laurens. — Dan- 
gers of England ; her Energy. 

CHAP. This winter, like the preceding, witnessed the hardships 

YYTVT • • • 

'_ ; of the soldiers, who were often in great straits for pro- 

1780. visions, and other necessaries. The depreciation of the 
currency continued ; Congress was in debt, without money 
and without credit. To preserve the soldiers from starva- 
tion, Washington was under, to him, the jjainfiil necessity 
of levying contributions ujjon the people of the surround- 
ing country. Jersey was drained almost to exhaustion ; 
but her patriotism rose in proportion to her sacrifices ; at 
one time, when deep snows cut oif supplies from a dis- 
tance, the subsistence of the whole army devolved upon 
her. " The women met together to knit and sew for the 
soldiery," and the farmers hastened to the camp with 
provisions, " stockings, shoes, coats, and blankets." 

A committee sent by Congress to inquire into the con- 
May, dition of afiairs at Morristown, reported : " That the army 
was five months unpaid ; that it seldom had more than 



BRITISH SUCCESS IN THE SOUTH. 467 

six days' provisions in advance, and was, on several occa- chap. 

sions, for sundry successive days, without meat ; was des- '. 

titute of forage ; that the medical department had neither 1780. 
sugar, tea, chocolate, wine, nor spirits." No other prin- 
ciple than true patriotism could have held men together 
in the midst of privations and sufferings such as these. 
In preparation for the ensuing campaign. Congress made 
great exertions to increase the army ; large hounties were 
offered, yet recruits came in slowly. 

The winter was exceedingly severe. The waters around 
New York were frozen, communication with the sea was 
cut off, so that the garrison and the citizens suffered for 
provisions. Kuyphausen was alarmed lest the Americans 
should pass on the ice and attack the city ; his ships of 
war were frozen fast, and no longer useful to defend it. 
He transferred the seamen to the shore, and formed them 
into companies, and placed the entire male population 
under arms. But his apprehensions were groundless, as 
Washington was too deficient in men and means to make 
a successful attack upon the garrison. 

In the South, the British were very successful. When 
Clinton arrived at Savannah, he immediately went Nortlx 
for the purpose of hlockading Charleston. General Lin- j^^ 
coin made every exertion to fortify the city. Four thou- 
sand of its militia enrolled themselves ; but the assistance 
received from the surrounding country numbered only two 
hundred men. South Carolina had represented to Con- 
gress her utter inability to defend lierself, " by reason of 
the great number of citizens necessary to remain at home 
to prevent insurrection among the negroes, and their de- 
sertion to the enemy." The only hope of Charleston lay 
in the regiments then on their march from Virginia and 
North Carolina. These regiments increased Lincoln's 



468 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, force to seven thousand, only two thousand of whom were 

. continentals. 

1780. The British occupied so much time in their approach, 

that an opportunity was given to fortify the harbor and 
city. It was of no avail ; the superior English fleet passed 
by Fort Moultrie without receiving much damage, though 
four years before the same fort had repulsed a similar at- 
tempt. The channel, at this time, was deeper, and the 
vessels could pass. 

Sir Henry Clinton had lost nearly all his horses on the 
voyage ; but he had with hioi Lieutenant-colonel Ban- 
astre Tarleton, a native of Liverpool. Let us take a 
glance at the colonel, who figures so largely in these south- 
ern campaigns. He was at this time only twenty-six 
years of age. He is described as short of stature, broad 
shouldered and muscular, of swarthy complexion, with a 
countenance lighted up by small, keen black eyes, the 
embodiment of ardent, prompt energy, and indomitable 
perseverance, that never pursued without overtaking ; 
always in front of his men ; as insensible to weariness as he 
was to fear. To be scrupuloiis was not one of his virtues. 
He soon, from friends or enemies, by money or by force, 
obtained horses for his dragoons. 
April Thirty miles from Charleston, at Monk's Corner, Gen- 

eral Huger and Colonel William "Washington had two 
regiments of continental cavalry to guard the jjasses to 
the north country. On a dark night, Tarleton, guided by 
a negro, pounced upon them with his dragoons, and scat- 
tered them. Huger and Washington escaped, with some 
of their officers and men, but Tarleton took a hundred 
prisoners, and four hundred wagons laden with stores. 
Fort Moultrie surrendered, and soon after another division 
of American cavalry was almost annihilated by Tarleton, 
and Charleston was now completely invested. 

As the defences of the town continued to fail in suc- 
cession, Lincoln thought to abandon the place, and force 



CHAELESTON CAPITULATES. 469 

his way through the enemy ; but the superiority of the ^^AP. 

besiegers in niimber and position rendered that impossible. '. 

The British fleet was ready to pour ruiu upon the devoted 1780. 
town. Clinton had thrown up intrenchments across the 
neck, and at this crisis CornwalKs arrived from New York 
with three thousand fresh troops. ^I'"' 

On the ninth of May commenced a terrible cannonade 
from two hundred cannons. All night long bombshells 
poured upon the town, which at one time was on fire in 
five different places. The morning dawned, but no hope 
dawned for the besieged. Their guns were nearly all dis- 
mounted, their works in ruins, the soldiers exhausted by 
fatigue. The fleet moved to a position much nearer. The 
following night an offer to capitulate was sent to Clinton. 
Negotiations commenced, which resulted in the surrender 
of the garrison 'as prisoners of war ; the militia were to 
be dismissed on their parole, not to engage again in the 
war ; with the promise, that so long as they kept their 
parole, their persons and property should be secure. The 
whole number of prisoners was about six thousand. May 

This was an irreparable loss to the patriots. Immedi- 
ately after Clinton sent off three expeditions ; one to 
intercept Colonel Beaufort, who was apjiroaching with a 
Virginia regiment to the aid of Charleston ; a second to- 
ward Augusta, and the third toward Camden. He also 
issued a proclamation, threatening terrible punishments 
on those who would not submit. This was soon after fol- 
lowed by another, which offered pardon to all those who 
would return to their allegiance, and assist in restoring 
the royal authority. 

When Beaufort heard of the loss of Charleston he 
commenced to retreat ; but there was no escaping Tarle- 
ton, who made a forced march of one hundred and five 
miles in fifty-four hours. He surprised Beaufort at Wax- 
haw's, on the boundary of North Carolina, and scattered 
his men, giving them no quarter, but treating them in the 



4*70 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

xIxv't' ^°^* cruel and barbarous manner. This act has left a 

stain upon his reputation. 

1780. The other detachments passed through the country, 

meeting with no resistance, as the people felt it would be 
useless to attack them. In a short time another procla- 
mation was issued, calling upon all, except those actually 
taken in arms, to renounce their parole, and take the oath 
of allegiance. During this time, the negroes in great 
numbers deserted their masters and fled to the British. 

June. South Carolina thus conquered, Clinton returned to New 
York, leaving Cornwallis to hold the country in subjection. 

Incidents show the spirit of the times. The Kev. 
James Caldwell, a Presbyterian clergyman, was pastor of 
a church at Elizabethtown. He had excited the ire of 
the Tories and British by his ardent appeals in the cause 
of his country. When he preached he would lay his pis- 
tols beside him : his eloquence stirred the people, with 
whom his popularity was unbounded. His church, a sort 
of rallying point, had been used by the American soldiers 
as a shelter, while its bell gave the alarm when the enemy 
approached. The Tories called him a "frantic priest," 
and " rebel firebrand ; " but the people spoke of him as 
" a rousing gospel preacher." During the winter a ma- 
rauding company of the British and Tories from New 
York burned the church, and Caldwell removed his family 
to Connecticut Farms. 
June After Knyphausen heard of the capture of Charleston, 

^- thinldng that event would have an influence upon the 
people of Jersey, he set out on au expedition, landing at 
Elizabethtown, and penetrated as far as Connecticut 
Farms. He met, at every step, with the most determined 
opposition ; but, nevertheless, the village was sacked and 
burned. Mrs. Caldwell, in the midst of the terror and 
confusion, retired to a room in the rear of the parsonage, 
and knelt in prayer, having by the hand one of her chil- 



THE MURDER OF MRS. CALDWELL. 471 

dren. Presently some one fired through the window, and ^^^P- 

she fell dead, pierced hy two balls. The church and par- '. 

sonage were both burned. Knyphausen, harassed by the 1780. 
mihtia, made an inglorious retreat. 

Meantime, the atrocious murder of Mrs. Caldwell rous- 
ed a spirit of revenge, unprecedented iu its influence. 
She was highly connected and universally beloved ; the 
murder was thought to have been designed. Caldwell 
preached more " rousing " sermons than ever. Three 
weeks later, Washington moved some of his forces toward 
the Highlands, and Knyphausen once more landed in Jer- 
sey, and pushed on toward Springfield, hoping to gain the 
passes beyond Morristown ; but alarm-guns spread the 
news of his approach, and General Greene, who had been 
left in command, was on the alert. Knyphausen found 
as much opposition as on the other occasion. The Jersey 
regiment, commanded by Dayton, and of which Caldwell 
was chaplain, was engaged in the battle. The soldiers 
were in want of wadding, and the chaplain galloped to 
the Presbyterian church, and brought a quantity of Watts' 
psalm and hymn books and distributed them for the pur- 
pose among the soldiers. " Now," cried he, " put Watts 
into them, boys ! "' The Americans increasing, Knyp- 
hausen, after burning the village of Springfield, efiected 
another inglorious retreat. 

The Baron De Kalb was sent, soon after the surrender 
of Lincoln, to take command of the army South, and all 
the continental troops south of Pennsylvania were detach- 
ed for that service. In the midst of these discourage- 
ments, Lafayette returned from his visit to France. He 
brought intelligence that a French fleet, with an army on 
board, had sailed to America, and also there might be 

■ Washington Irving. 



March 



472 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

x?rn! ®^P^<^t^*l soon a supply of arms and clothing from the 

same source. 

1780. The several States were now urged to send forward 

then- quotas of men and provisions, to enable the army to 
co-operate with the French. In the camp there was al- 
most a famine ; a Connecticut regiment was on the point 
of marching home, where they could obtain provisions. 
Congress was laboring to borrow money in Holland in 
order to supply these wants. 

A French fleet, consisting of seven shijss of the line, 
and also frigates and transports, at length appeared at 
' " ^' Newport. This was the first division, consisting of six 
thousand land troops. To avoid disputes that might arise 
from military etiquette. Count Eochambeau, their com- 
mander, was instructed to put himself under the command 
of Washington. The expected supplies of arms and 
clothing did not arrive, and for the want of them, the 
American army could not co-operate in an attack upon 
New York. 

The French fleet was followed by one from England, 
of equal strength, and now Clinton, trusting to his supe- 
rior naval force, made preparations to attack the French 
at Newport ; but as he and Admiral Arbuthnot could not 
agree as to the plan, the project was abandoned. The 
British, instead, blockaded the French. News came, not 
long after, that the second division designed for the Uni- 
ted States was blockaded at Brest by another British 
squadron. Thus, for the third time, the Americans were 
disapi)ointed in their hopes of aid from the French fleet, 
and, instead, the militia of New England was called out 
to defend it at Newport. 

In the South was the quietness that reigns in a con- 
quered country ; but the unsubdued spirit of the patriots 
was soon aroused by their partisan leaders, — Sumter, 
Clarke, Pickens, and Francis Marion, the latter a Hugue- 
not by descent, and who had served against the Cherokees 



GATES ASSUMES THE COMMAND. 473 

at the close of tlie French war. These leaders, v/ith their chap. 

hands, generally horsemen, scoured the country, and im- , 

proved every opportunity to malce a dash at parties of 1780. 
British or Tories. At first they were almost destitute of 
arms ; these their ingenuity partially suppHed by con- 
verting scythes and knives fastened to poles into lances ; 
wood saws into broadswords, while the women cheerfully 
gave their pewter dishes to be melted into bullets ; from 
nitre found in caverns in the mountains, and charcoal 
burned upon their hearths, they made their powder. So 
efiectually did they conduct this irregular warfare, that 
ere long foraging parties of the enemy dared not venture 
far from the main army. If these patriots were repulsed 
in one place, they would suddenly appear in another, as 
vigorous as ever. While Sumter — characterized by Corn- 
wallis, as the South Carolina " Game Cock " — with his 
band, was on the Catawba, Marion — known as the " Swamp 
Fox " — was issuing, " with his ragged followers," from the 
swamps aloug the Lower Peedee, 

Congress now resolved to send Greneral Gates to take 
command of the southern army. Great expectations were 
raised when it was known that the conqueror of Burgoyne 
was about to assume the command. But General Charles 
Lee remarked, " That his northern laurels would soon be 
changed into southern willows." 



-"o^ 



De Kalb, with the regiments under his command, re- 
tarded by want of provisions, moved slowly south. His 
soldiers could only by great exertion obtain their necessary 
supplies in the barren region through ■vyhich they passed. 
Because of this want, he was forced to halt three weeks 
on Deep River, one of the upper tributaries of Cape Fear 
Eiver ; there Gates overtook him, and assumed the com- 
mand. Contrary to the advice of De Kalb and liis offi- 
cers, who recommended a circuitous route through the 
fertile and friendly county of Mecklenburg, Gates imme- 



474 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, diately gave orders to march direct on Camden. He said 

the wagons coming from the north, and laden with pro- 

1780. visions, would overtake them in two days. They marched 
through a region of pine barrens interspersed with swamps, 
and almost destitute of inhabitants. Their only food was 
green corn, unripe apples and peaches, and such lean wild 
cattle as chance threw in their way. The wagons never 
overtook them, hut disease did, and the suffering soldiers 
were greatly enfeebled. After a toilsome march of nearly 
Aug. three weeks, he encamped at Clermont, about twelve 
miles from Camden. His army had increased almost daily, 
princijjally from North Carolina and Virginia, and now 
numbered nearly four thousand, of whom two-thirds were 
continentals. 

Lord Eawdon, when he heard of the approach of Gates, 
retreated and concentrated his forces at Camden, at which 
place Cornwallis had just arrived from Charleston to take 
command. 

Gates made a move the following night to take a po- 
sition nearer Camden, and Cornwallis made a similar move 
to surprise Gates. The advance guards met in the woods ; 
after some skirmishing, both armies halted till morning. 
Aug. With the dawn, the battle commenced. The British 
rushed on with fixed bayonets against the centre of the 
American army, where the militia were posted ; they fled 
immediately, throwing down their arms lest they should 
be encumbered in their headlong flight. Gates himself 
and Governor CasweU were both carried off the field by 
the torrent of fugitives. The continentals stood their 
ground firmly, until their brave commander, De Kalb, 
■who had received eleven wounds, fell exhausted — then 
they also gave way. 

The American army was completely routed, scattered 
in small parties, and in all directions. Their loss, in slain 
and prisoners, was nearly eighteen hundred, besides all 
their baggage and artillery. The road was strewed with 



16. 



DEFEAT AT CAMDEN DEATH OF DE KALB. 475 

the dead and wounded, the work of the British cavalry, chap 

whicli the impetuous Tarleton urged on in pursuit of the 

fugitives for twenty-eight miles. I'iBO. 

Certain of victory. Gates imprudently made no ar- 
rangements for a retreat, or the preservation of his stores, 
hut instead, he met with the most disastrous defeat ever 
experienced hy an American army. Truly, his northern 
laurels had degenerated into southern willows ! A few 
days after the battle, he arrived with about two hundred 
followers at Charlotte, in North Carolina. 

De Kalb was found by the British on the field still 
alive ; his aide-de-camp, De Buysson, would not leave 
him, but generously suffered himself to be taken prisoner. 
The Baron lingered for a few days. His last moments 
were employed in dictating a letter to the officers and men 
of his division, expressing for them his warmest aflection. 

Some days before the late battle, Sumter fell upon a 
convoy of supplies approaching Camden for the British, 
and took two hundred prisoners. When Cornwallis heard 
of it, he sent Tarleton in pursuit, who rode so hard, that 
half his men and horses broke down. When he arrived 
on the Catawba, Sumter had reason to think himself be- 
yond pursuit, and halted to refresh his men, when he was 
completely taken by surprise, his company routed, and 
his prisoners rescued. Thus, within three months, two 
American armies had been defeated, and scattered in 
every direction. 

Gates continued to retreat toward the North, having 
now about a thousand men. Maryland and Virginia made 
great exertions to recruit the army, but with httle suc- 
cess. 

CornwalUs, instead of conciliating the people hy clem- 
ency, excited them to intense hostihty by cruelty. Of the 
prisoners taken at Sumter's defeat, there were some who 
had given their parole not to engage in the war ; a por- 
tion of these were hanged upon the spot. There was 



476 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

ciiAP. more revenge and hatred exhibited in the South by the 
Whigs and Tories against each other, than in any other 

1T80. section of the States. The severity of CornwalHs, how- 
ever, did not deter the patriots from action. Marion was 
still in the field, and the untiring Sumter soon collected 
another force, with which he harassed the enemy. 

Washington wished to strike a decisive blow, and he 
invited Kochambeau, who was commanding the French 
troops at Newport, to meet him at Hartford, to devise a 
plan of attack upon New York. After consultation, it 
was found that the French naval force was insufficient to 
cope with the British fleet at New York. Accordingly, 
the French Admiral on the West India station was invited 
to co-operate ; and, until he coidd be heard from, the en- 
terprise was postponed. 

While Washington was thus absent from head-quar- 
ters, a nefarious plot, which had been in train for some 
months, came to light. One of the bravest officers of the 
American army was about to tarnish his fair name as a 
patriot, and bring uj)on it the scorn and contempt of aU 
honorable men. It was discovered that Arnold had prom- 
ised to betray into the hands of the enemy the important 
fortress of West Point. The wounds he had received at 
the battle of Behmus's Heights had unfitted him for ac- 
tive service, and he was placed in command at Philadel- 
. phia. There he lived in a very extravagant style ; in- 
volved himself in debts, to pay which he engaged in pri- 
vateering and mercantile speculations, most of which 
were unsuccessful. He was accused of using the pubUc 
funds, and condemned by a court-martial to receive a 
reprimand from the Commander-in-chief, who performed 
the unpleasant duty as delicately as possible. Yet Arnold 
felt the disgrace, and determined to be revenged. WhUe 
in Philadelphia he married into a Tory famUy, which 
opened a way to an intercourse with British officers. His 



TREASON OF ARNOLD MAJOR JOHN ANDRE. 477 

merits as an officer were great, but Congress evidently ™^P- 

took into consideration his private character. The mem- 

bers from Connecticut knew him well. He was prover- 1780. 
bially dishonest in his dealings, disregarded the rights of 
others, indifferent as to what men thought of his integrity, 
and to those under him cruel and tyrannical. In conse- 
quence of these inexcusable faults many distrusted him. 
The question has been raised, Why did Washington trust 
Arnold ? Evidently, because he knew him only as an 
efficient and brave officer. It is not probable any person 
took the liberty of whispering to the Commander-in-chief 
the defects of Arnold's private character. We know that 
during his whole life, Washington was governed by the 
principle of appointing to office none but honest men. 

In the midst of his troubles, Arnold's selfishness be- 
came superior to his patriotism, and he opened a corre- 
spondence with Sir Henry Clinton, under the signature of 
Gustavus. For months this continued, when he made 
himself known. In the mean time, he applied to Wash- -^ug- 
ington and obtained the command of West Point, with 
the full intention of betraying that important post. 

In the British army was a young man of pleasing ad- 
dress ; accomplished in mental acquirements, and as 
amiable as he was brave. Disappointed in love, he had 
joined the army and made fame the object of his ambi- 
tion ; as capable of planning the amusements for a ball or 
a masquerade as of fulfilling the duties of his office — that 
of adjutant-general. He won many friends, and with Sir 
Henry Clinton was a special favorite. It devolved upon 
this young man. Major John Andre, to answer the letters 
of " Gustavus." Tliis he did under the feigned name of 
" John Anderson." When Arnold revealed his true char- 
acter, Andre volunteered to go up the Hudson on board 
the sloop-of-war Vulture, to have an interview with him, 
and make the final arrangements for carrying out the 
treachery. 



478 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

C^^. The Vulture came to anchor a short distance below 

the American Unes. Thence a flag was sent to Arnold, 

1780. giving him the information. In the evening the latter 
'21. " sent a boat to bring Andre ashore. The night passed, 
however, before their plans were arranged, and Andre was 
compelled, though veiy unwillingly, to pass the next day 
within the American lines. During the day the Vulture 
attracted the attention of some American gunners, who 
began to fire upon her, and she dropped down the stream. 
For some imexplained reason, the man who had brought 
Andre ashore refused to take him back to the sloop, and 
he was forced to return to New York by land. He changed 
his uniform for a citizen's dress, and with a pass from Ar- 
nold, under the name of John Anderson, set out. Passing 
to the east side of the river, he travelled on unmolested 
until he came in the vicinity of Tarrytown. There he 
was arrested by three young men, John Paulding, David 
Williams, and Isaac Van Wart. They asked him some 
questions, and he, supposing them Tories, did not pro- 
duce his pass, but said he was " from below," meaning 
New York, and that he was a British ofiicer, travelling on 
important business. When lie found his mistake, he 
offered them his watch, his purse, and any amount of 
money, if they would let him pass. Their patriotism was 
not to be seduced. Paulding declared that if he would 
give ten thousand guineas he should not stir a step. In 
searching his person, they found in his boots papers of a 
Sept. suspicious character. They brought him to Colonel Jami- 
son, the commanding officer on the lines at Peekskill. He 
recognized the handwriting as that of Arnold. The paper 
contained a description of West Point, and an account of 
its garrison. But he could not believe that his superior 
officer was guilty of treason, and had it not been for the 
protests of Major Talmadge, the second in command, he 
would have sent the prisoner to Arnold ; as it was, he 
sent him a letter giving an account of the arrest, and of 



TRIAL OF ANDRE HIS EXECUTION. 479 

the papers found upon liis person. The papers he sent chap. 
by express to Washington, now on his way from Hartford. " 

The letter came to Arnold while he was breakfasting 1780. 
with some officers, who had just returned from that place. 
Concealing his emotions, he rose from the table, called his 
wife out of the room, briefly told her he was a ruined man 
and must flee for his life. She fell insensible at his feet. 
He directed the messenger to attend to her, returned to 
the breakfast-room, excused himself on the plea that he 
must hasten to the fort to receive the Commander-in- 
chief Then seizing the messenger's horse, which stood 
ready saddled, he rode with all speed to the river, sprang 
into his boat, and ordered the men to row to the Vulture. 
Thence he wrote to Washington, begging him to protect 
his wife, who, he protested, was innocent of any partici- 
pation in what he had done. 

When Andre heard that Arnold was safe, he wrote to 
Washington, confessing the whole affair. He was imme- 
diately brought to trial under the charge of being within 
the American lines, as a spy. Though cautioned to say g^ ^ 
nothing to criminate himself, he confessed the whole, and 29. 
on his own confession he was found guilty. The commis- 
sion to try him was presided over by General Greene. 
Lafayette and Steiiben were also members of it. Andre 
protested that he had been induced to enter the American 
lines by the misrepresentations of Arnold. Clinton made 
every effort to save his favorite. The amiableness of An- 
dre's private character enlisted much sympathy in his 
behalf. And Washington wished, if possible, to spare 
him ; but a higher duty forbid it. Inexorable martial law 
denied him his last request, that he might be shot as a 
soldier, and not hanged as a spy. 

Oct. 
2 

Cornwallis at length commenced his march toward 

North CaroUna. His army was in three divisions ; one Sept. 
of which, under Colonel Patrick Ferguson, was to move 



480 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, to the west near the mountains, to intimidate the Whigs, 

. and enroll the numerous Tories said to be in that region. 

1780. The cavalry, and a portion of the light troops, under Tarle- 
ton, were to move up the Catawba, while the main body, 
under Cornwallis himself, was to take the route by way 
of Charlotte, Salisbury, and Hillsborough, through the 
region in wliich the Whigs were very numerous. This 
was with the expectation of forming a juncture with 
troops sent to the lower Chesapeake from New York. As 
soon as the British army began its march, the Whigs 
sprang into fictivity, and harassed them ; scarcely did an 
express sent from any division of the army escape being 
shot or taken. Cornwallis declared Charlotte " the hor- 
net's nest of North Carolina." 

Ferguson, the son of a Scotch judge of eminence, had 
entered the army from the love of military life, had seen 
service in Germany, and was deemed by Cornwallis an 
excellent officer. He excelled in the use of the rifle, and 
in training others to the use of that weajion. He was 
generous and humane ; in any enterprise persevering and 
cool. Over his company of light-infantry regulars he had 
control, and restrained them from deeds of violence ; but 
he was joined by a rabble of desperadoes and rancorous 
Tories. As they passed through the country, these Tories 
committed outrages upon the inhabitants. He met with 
scarcely any opposition. But information of these out- 
rages and of his approach had spread rapidly throughout 
the region. Little did Ferguson think that at this time, 
when he neither saw nor heard of an enemy — ^for all his 
expresses were cut off — that from the distant hills and 
valleys of the Clinch and the Holston, and from the eastern 
spurs of the mountains, companies of mounted backwoods- 
men — their only baggage a knapsack and blanket, their 
only weapon a rifle — were passing silently through the 
forests to a place of rendezvous in his front. The most 
formidable of these were from Tennessee and Kentucky, 



BATTLE OF KING'S MOUNTAIN. 481 

under Colonels Sevier and Shelby, — afterward first gov- ^hap 

ernors of tliose States. 

Kumors stole into his camp that these half-farmers 1780. 
and graziers and half-hunters were assembling ; but he 
scouted the idea that they could ojipose him ; though, 
when he received more correct information, he began to 
retreat as rapidly as possible. He had not bepn long on 
his way when this motley host, thi-ee thousand strong, 
came together. They held a council ; they were not to 
be baffled ; about nine hundred mounted their fleetest 
horses and started in pursuit. They rode for thirty-six 
hours, part of the time through a drenching rain, dis- 
mounting but once. Ferguson was astonished at their 
perseverance. He pushed for a strong position on King's 
Mountain, near the Catawba. This mountahi rises almost 
like a cone ; its top was sparsely covered with taU forest 
trees, while at the base they were more dense. On the 
level space on the top he arranged his men, saying, with 

an oath, that the " rebels " could not drive him from his 

... ' Oct. 

position. g^ 

The backwoodsmen approached, reconnoitred, held a 

council, then dismounted to attack the enemy in three 

divisions — in front, and on the right and left flanks. The 

battle soon commenced, the Americans crept up the sides 

of the mountain, and with deliberate aim poured in their 

deadly bullets. Ferguson, on a white charger, rode round 

and round the crest of the hUl, and cheered his men. No 

impression was made on the assailants. He ordered the 

regulars to charge bayonet, and they drove the left division 

down the side of the mountain — for the backwoodsmen 

had no bayonets. Presently the regulars were taken in 

flank, and they retreated to the toj), where, by this time, 

the second division had clambered up. This they drove 

back also ; but before the regulars, now almost exhausted, 

could regain their position, the third division was on the 

plain. Thus it was, as often as a division retired before 

31 



482 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP tlie bayonet, another gave relief. Ferguson passed from 

point to point, and cheered and ralHed his men ; bnt sud- 

1790. denly his white charger was seen dashing down the moun- 
tain-side without a rider : he had fallen by a rifle-baU. 
The animating spirit was gone ; the British and Tories 
grounded their arms and surrendered at discretion. Three 
hundred h^d been killed or wounded, and more than eight 
hundred were made prisoners. The backwoodsmen lost 
but twenty slain and a somewhat larger number wounded. 
Ten of the Tories, who had been especially cruel toward 
their countrymen, were hanged upon the spot. 

The backwoodsmen disbanded and returned home ; 
their victory had revived the drooping sj)irits of the south- 
ern patriots. The battle of King's Mountain bore the 
same relation to CornwaUis, that the battle of Bennington 
did to Burgoyne ; and both were won by the undisciplined 
yeomanry. 

When CornwaUis heard of the defeat of Ferguson he 
retreated from Salisbury to Winnsborough, in South Car- 
olina. In one portion of the country Marion appeared, 
but Tarleton forced him to retreat to the swamps. Then 
the active Sumter appeared in force again, and rejiulsed a 
detachment sent against him. Tarleton went in pursuit, 
but Sumter learned of his approach, and began to retreat 
rapidly, while Tarleton pressed on with his usual ^dgor. 
Sumter chose an advantageous position ; Tarleton attacked 
him, but was repulsed, and in turn forced to retreat. Sum- 
ter was severely wounded ; he was compelled to retire for 
some months ; his band, in the mean time, separated. 

Gates now advanced South to Charlotte. Here he 
was overtaken by G-reene, who, on the suggestion of 
Washington, had been appointed by Congress to the com- 
mand of the southern army. Congress had also ordered 
an inquiry into the conduct of Gates. 

Greene found the remnants of the army in a miserable 



CIVIL WAR IN THE SOUTH THE ARMED NEUTEALITT. 483 

condition, without pay, without necessaries, and their chap. 

XX XVT 

clothes in rags. To increase the army, divisions were sent ! 

from the North. Morgan with a regiment, Lee's body of 1780. 
horse, and some companies of artillery, were with Gates 
when Greene arrived. 

During this time, a civil war, almost savage in its 
character, was raging all over the Carolinas. Little par- 
ties of Whigs and Tories fought with each other whenever 
they met ; they ravaged each others' neighborhoods, and 
plundered the people of their furniture, and even of their 
clothes. 

The year was about to end, with the British power 
triumphant in the three southern States. In Georgia the 
royal government was re-established, while the important 
points held in the Carolinas gave the enemy almost the 
entire control of those States. The numerous Tories were 
exultant, while the whole country was nearly exhausted 
by the long continuance of the war. 

During the summer of this year, it was thought Eng- 
land would find abundant employment for her armies 
and navy nearer home. Because she had the power, by 
means of a vast navy, she assumed the right to board the 
ships of any neutral nation, and to search for merchandise 
contraband of war — a practice as arbitrary and arrogant 
as it was unjust and injurious. Queen Catharine, of Rus- 
sia, would submit no longer to the imposition. She pro- 
posed to enter into a combination, known as the "Armed 
Neutrality," with Denmark and Sweden, to enforce the 
policy that "Free ships make free goods." That, in time 
of war, ships of neutral nations coiUd carry merchandise 
without liability to seizure by the belligerent powers. The 
British ministry hesitated to enlist the whole maritime 
world against their commerce, that was already suffering " 
much. Holland gave indications that she was willing, 
not only to join the "armed neutrality," but to enter into 
a commercial treaty with the United States. This inten- 



484 HISTOET OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, tion became known by the capture of a correspondence on 

the subject. The vessel on board of which Henry Laurens, 

1780. the American Minister to Holland, had sailed, was cap- 
tured by an English frigate. Laurens threw the pajjers 
overboard, but an English sailor leaped into the water and 
recovered them. 

Laurens was descended from one of the many Hugue- 
not families that sought an asylum in South Carolina ; 
nor did he belie the nobleness of bis ancestry. He was 
taken to England and confined a close j^risoner in the 
Tower of London, on a charge of high treason, j^lied with 
inducements to desert his country's cause, but without 
avail. He stood firm, and was finally liberated, to pro- 
ceed to Paris, there to aid in negotiating a treaty with 
England herself, on behalf of his country, which had fought 
its way to independence. 

The British ministiy demanded that this correspond- 
ence should be disavowed, but the States-General, with 
their usual coolness, gave an evasive answer. England 
declared war immediately, and her fleet exhibited their 
thirst for plunder by entering at once on a foray against 
the commerce of Holland throughout the world. 

England now had reason to be alarmed at surrounding 
dangers. Spain joined France, and their combined fleets 
far outnumbered hers in the West Indies. Holland de- 
clared war against her, while nearer home there was dan- 
ger. Eighty thousand Irishmen had volunteered to repel 
a threatened invasion from France ; but now these volun- 
teers, with arms in their hands, were clamoring against 
the oppression that England exercised over their industry 
and commerce, and threatened to follow the example of 
the American colonies in not using British manufactures ; 
and, what was still more ominous, demanded that the 
Irish Parliament should be independent of English con- 
trol. The whole world was affected by these struggles. 
Spain sent her ships to prey upon English commerce, and 



THE EKEKGT OF ENGLAND. 485 

an army to besiege the English garrison at Gibraltar, chap. 

. . . . . XXXVI 

France had armies against lier in America and in India — ^' 

both aiding rebellious subjects. To meet these over- 1T80. 

whelming jjowers, England put forth gigantic efforts. We 

must admire the indomitable spirit, that steady energy, 

with which she repelled her enemies, and held the world 

at bay. 



CHAPTEE XXXVII. 

WAR OF THE REVOLUTION— CONTINUED. 

The Spirit of ReTolt among tbe Soldiers. — Arnold ravages the Sliores of tlie 
Cliesapealie. — Battle of the Cowpcns. — Morgan retreats ; Cornwallis 
pur.su;s. — Greene marches South. — Lee scatters the Tories. — Battle of 
Guildford Court House. — Conflict at Hobkirk's Hill. — The Execution of 
Hayne. — Battle of Eutaw Springs. — Plans to Capture New York. — 
Wayne's Daring at the James River.- — National Finances. — Robert Mor- 
ris. — French and American Armies on the Hudson. — Clinton deceived. — 
Combined Armies beyond the Delaware. — French Fleet in the Ches- 
apeake.— Cornwalhs in the Toils. — The Attack ; Surrender of the Brit- 
ish Army and Navy. — Thanksgivings. 

CHAP. The last year of the struggle for Independence opened. 

'_ as had all the others, with exhibitions of distress among 

1781. the soldiers. The regiments of the Pennsylvania line, en- 
camped for the winter near Morristown, grew impatient 
at the indifference of Congress to their necessities. In 
truth, that body was more or less distracted by factions, 
and made no sjiecial efforts to relieve the wants of the 
soldiers. Thirteen hundred of these men, indignant at 
Jan. guQ]j neglect, broke out in open revolt, and under the 
command of their sergeants, marched off toward Philadel- 
phia, to lay their complaints before Congress. 

General Wayne, to prevent their pillaging, sent after 
them provisions ; he himself soon followed, and urged 
them to return to their duty. The sergeants, at his in- 
stance, proposed to send a deputation to Congress, and 
to the Pennsylvania Assembly, but the soldiers refused to 



REVOLTS IN THE ARMY. 487 

entertain the proposition, and persisted in going them- ^^E-jj 

selves. Though thus mutinous, they scorned the thought 

of turning '' Arnolds," as they expressed it, but promptly 1781. 
arrested as spies two Tory emissaries sent by Sir Henry 
Clinton to tamper with their fidelity. These emissaries 
were soon after hanged. Wayne in his zeal placed him- 
self before the mutineers and cocked his pistols. In an 
instant their bayonets were at his breast. They besought 
him not to fire, saying : " We love, we respect you, but 
you are a dead man if you fire. Do not mistake us ; we 
are not going to the enemy ; were they now to come out 
you would sec us fight under your orders, with as much 
resolution and alacrity as ever." 

Intelligence of this revolt excited great alarm in Phila- 
delphia. Congress sent a committee, which was accom- 
panied by Eeed, the President of Pennsylvania, to meet 
the insurgents and induce them to return to their duty. 
The committee proposed to relieve their present wants, to 
give them certificates for the remainder of their pay, and 
to indemnify them for the loss they had sustained by the 
depreciation of the continental money. Permission was 
also given to those who had served three years to with- 
draw from the army. On these conditions the soldiers 
returned to the ranks. When offered a reward for deliv- 
ering up the British emissaries sent to corrupt them, they 
refused it, saying : " We ask no reward for doing our 
duty to our country." 

The discontent spread. Three weeks after this affair, 
the New Jersey line also revolted ; but that was sup- 
pressed by a strong hand in a few days. So much discon- 
tent in the army spread consternation throughout the 
country ; not, however, without a salutary effect. The 
patriots were awakened to make greater exertions to pro- 
vide for the necessities of the soldiers. Their self-denials, 
labors, and sufferings had been too long overlooked. 

Urgent demands were now sent to all the States, 



488 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

xxxvn especially those of New England, to furnish the army 

with the proper necessaries. To encourage enlistments, 

1781 some of the States promised to provide for the families of 
the soldiers, and Congress endeavored to obtain a foreign 
loan. 

Arnold, as the reward of his treachery, received fifty 
thousand dollars, and the commission of brigadier-general 
in the British army. Lost to shame, he put forth a 
" Proclamation to the officers and soldiers of the Continen- 
tal Army." He contrasted their privations and want of 
pay with the comforts and full pay of the British soldiers, 
and offered every man who should desert to the royal 
cause, fifteen dollars as a bounty, and full pay thereafter. 
The " proclamation" had no other effect than to increase 
the detestation in which the soldiers held the traitor. 

Clinton sent Arnold with sixteen hundred men, British 
and Tories, to ravage the coasts of Virginia. Thomas 
Jefferson, who was then governor, called out the militia 
Jan. to defend Richmond ; but only about two hundred men 
could be raised, and with great difficulty most of the pub- 
lic stores were removed. After Arnold had taken pos- 
session of the town, he jiroposed to spare it, if permitted 
to bring up the ships and load them with the tobacco 
found in the place. Jefferson promptly rejected the prop- 
osition. Arnold destroyed a great amount of private 
property, burned the public buildings, and some private 
dwellings. He then dropped down the river, landing oc- 
casionally to burn and destroy. 

Baron Steuben, who was at this time in Virginia en- 
listing soldiers for Greene's army, had not an adequate 
force to rejjel the invaders. Washington sent to his aid 
Lafayette, with twelve hundred men, principally from 
New England and Jersey. They hoped to capture Ar- 
nold. On the same errand, two French ships of war con- 
trived to enter the Chesapeake. Soon after, the whole 



BATTLE OF THE COWPENS. 489 

French fleet, with troops on board, sailed from Newport S^.^^,-, 

for the same place. A British fleet followed from New ' 

York, and an indecisive engagement took place between 1781. 
them ofl" the entrance to the bay. The French fleet, 
worsted in the fight, returned to Newport, while the Brit- 
ish entered the bay and reinforced Arnold with two thou- ' 
sand men, under General Phillips, who had recently been 
exchanged for General Lincoln. Phillips assumed the 
command, much to the satisfaction of the British officers, 
who disliked to serve under the traitor. 

Thus, for the fourth time, the French fleet fafled to 
co-operate with the American land-forces; in consequence 
of which Lafayette was compelled to halt on his way at 
Annapolis. 

Phillips, having now a superior force, sent detach- Mar. 
ments up the rivers and ravaged their shores. One of the 
vessels sailed up the Potomac as as far as Mount Vernon. 
The manager of the estate saved the houses from being 
burned by furnishing supplies. Washington reproved 
him in a letter, saying, he " would prefer the buildings 
should be burned, than to save them by the pernicious 
practice of furnishing suppUes to the enemy." 

Cornwallis, who was at Winnsborough, detached Tarle- 
ton, with about a thousand troops, cavalry and light- 
infantry, to cut off Morgan's division, which was in the 
region between the Broad and Catawba rivers. When 
Morgan heard of Tarleton's approach, he retired toward 
the Broad River, intending to cross it. Tarleton pursued 
with his usual rapidity. Morgan saw that he must be 
overtaken ; he halted, refreshed his men, and prepared for 
the conflict. He chose his ground at a place known as 
" The Cowpens," about thirty miles west of King's Moun- 
tain, and thus named because herds of cattle were pas- 
tured in that portion of the Thickety mountains. The '^^^■ 
two armies were about equal in numbers. More than half 
of Morgan's were North and South Carohna militia, under 



490 HISTOEY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

xxxvn ^'^■'•^^^l Pickens. Morgan disjiosed his men to the best 

advantage ; the Continentals on a woody hill, and the 

1781. militia in a line by themselves. He was deficient in cav- 
alry, but placed what he had under Colonel Washington, 
as a reserve. The British and Tories, though fatigued by 
their last night's march, were confident of victory ; they 
rushed on with shouts. The militia stood their groimd, 
delivered their fire, but quailing before the bayonet, they 
broke and fled. In pursuing the fugitives, the enemy 
almost passed by the Continentals, who, to avoid being 
taken in flank, fell back in order. This movement the 
British mistook for a retreat, and they commenced a vig- 
orous pursuit, but when they approached within thirty 
yards, the Continentals suddenly wheeled, poured in a 
deadly volley, then charged bayonet, completely routed 
them, and captured their colors and cannon. Mean time 
the British cavalry, under Tarletou himself, continued the 
pursuit of the militia. While thus rushing on in con- 
fusion, the American cavalry attacked them in flank, and 
routed them also. These two repulses occurred almost at 
the same time, but in difi'erent parts of the field. The 
enemy were routed beyond recovery, and the Americans 
pursued them vigorously. The fiery Tarleton, accompa- 
nied by a few followers, barely escaped capture. Of his 
eleven hundred men he lost six hundred, while Morgan's 
loss was less than eighty. 

When Cornwallis, who was only twenty-five miles dis- 
tant, heard of Tarleton's defeat, he at once determined 
upon his course. He thought that Morgan, encumbered 
with prisoners and spoils, would linger for some time near 
the scene of his victory. He therefore destroyed his bag- 
gage, converted his entire army into light troops, and with 
all his force set out in pursuit. His object was twofold ; 
to rescue the prisoners, and crush Morgan before he coidd 
cross the Catawba and unite his force with that of Gen- 
eral Greene. 



THE RETEEAT AND THE PURSUIT. 491 

Morgan was too watchful to be thus caught. He knew ^^^^.-j 

Cornwallis would pursue Mm, and he left his wounded 

under a flag of truce, and hurried on to the Catawba, and 1781. 
crossed over. Two hours had scarcely elajoscd before the 
British vanguard appeared on the opposite bank. A sud- 
den rise in the river detained Cornwallis two days ; in 
the mean time Morgan sent off his prisoners, and refreshed 
his men. 

When Greene heard of Morgan's victory, he put his 
troops in motion, and two days after the passage of the 
Catawba joined him and assumed the command. He was 
not yet able to meet the enemy, and the retreat was con- 
tinued toward the Yadldn, the ujjper course of the Peedee. 
His encumbered army could move but slowly ; just as his 
rear-guard was embarking on the river, the British van Feb. 
came up. A skirmish ensued, in which the Americans ^' 
lost a few baggage wagons. To-morrow, thought Corn- 
wallis, I shall secure the prize ; and he halted for the 
night to rest his weary soldiers. The rain had j^oured in 
torrents, and in the morning the river was so much swollen, 
that his army could not ford it, and Greene had secured 
all the boats on the other side. The latter, though here 
joined by other divisions, dared not risk a battle with his 
unrelenting pursuers. He called out the militia in the 
neighborhood to check the enemy at the fords, and hur- 
ried on to cross the river Dan into Virginia, whence alone 
he could receive recruits and supplies. General Morgan, 
on account of iUness, now withdrew from the army, and 
Greene left Colonel Otho H. Williams, with some light- 
armed troops, to keep the pursuers in check. 

As soon as possible Cornwallis crossed the Yadkin ; 
if the Americans could get beyond the Dan they would 
be safe, and he strained every nerve to cut them off. He 
supposed they coidd not cross at the lower ferries for want 
of boats, and that they must go higher up the stream, 
where it could be forded. With this impression he pushed 



492 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

YXYvn ^°^ *^^ upper fords, and Colonel Williams kept up liis 

. delusion by manoeuvring before liim in that direction. 

1T81. But the judicious Greene, anticipating the movement, had 
taken measures to collect boats at the lower ferries, and 
sent forward Kosciusko to throw up breastworks to defend 
them. He now urged on his weary soldiers, at the rate 
of thirty miles a day, reached the ferries, and carried over 
his main body, and the baggage. Meanwhile, when they 
had sufficiently retarded the pursuers, by breaking down 
bridges and carrying off provisions, the light-troops, as if 
for the night, kindled their camp-fires in sight of the foe ; 
^®"' then dashed off, and by a rapid march of forty miles, 
reached the ferries and passed over. In a few hours, the 
van of the British appeared on the opposite bank. Corn- 
wallis, in his movement toward the upper fords, had gone 
twenty-five miles out of his way. After a chase of more 
than two hundred miles, the object of his pursuit lay in 
sight, but the waters between could not be forded, nor 
could boats be obtained. As the two armies rested in 
sight of each other, how different were their emotions ! 
The one overflowing with gratitude, the other chafed with 
disappointment. 

The half-clad Americans liad toiled for nearly four 
weeks over roads partially frozen, through drenching rains, 
without tents at night ; multitudes were without shoes, 
and in this instance, as in many others during the war, 
their way could be tracked in bloody foot-prints. Twice 
had the waters, through which they had safely passed, 
risen and become impassable to their pursuers, and again 
a river swollen by recent rains lay between them. Was 
it strange, that those who were accustomed to notice the 
workings cf Providence, believed that He who orders all 
things, had specially interposed His arm for the salvation 
of the patriots .^ 

After resting his soldiers — who, if they were compelled 
to march rapidly, were comfortably clad — CornwalUs com- 



2 



GREENE MARCHES IN PURSUIT THE TORIES DEFEATED. 493 

menced to move slowly back. He and his officers were chap. 

XXXYII. 

greatly mortified at their want of success ; tliey had made 

great sacrifices in destroying their private stores, that 1781. 
when thus freed from encumbrances, they could overtake 
the Americans and completely disperse them. A few 
days later, he took post at Hillsborough, whence he issued 
another of his famous proclamations. 

General Greene refreshed his troops, of whom he wrote 
to Washington, that they were "■ in good spirits, notwith- 
standing their sufferings and excessive fatigue." He then 
repassed the Dan, and boldly marched in pursuit, to en- 
courage the Whigs of the Carolinas, and prevent the To- 
ries from rising. 

It was rumored that Tarleton was enlisting and organ- 
izing great numbers of Tories in the district between the 
Haw and Deep rivers. General Greene sent Colonels Mar. 
Lee and Pickens, with their cavalry, against him. On 
their way they met three or four hundred mounted Tories, 
who mistook their men for Tarleton's, and came riding 
up, shouting " Long live the king ! " It was for them a 
sad mistake. The Americans made no reply, but sur- 
rounded them, and without mercy cut tliem to jjieces. 
Another exhibition of that deadly rancor that prevailed in 
the South between the Whigs and the royalists. This 
check taught the Tories caution, and materially dimin- 
ished their eidistments. Many others, on their way to 
the British camjj, when they heard of this conflict, re- 
turned to their homes. 

Cornwallis, almost destitute of supplies, changed his Feb. 
position, and moved further South. Greene cautiously 
followed, not daring, from very weakness, to risk an en- 
gagement with the enemy's veterans, except when they 
were in small parties. As for himself, he was so watchful 
against surprise, that he never remained more than one 
day in the same place, and never communicated to any 
one beforehand where he expected to encamp. 



26. 



494 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. Fresh troops, in the mean time, were gradually joining 

[ him from Virginia and Maryland, and when his force 

1781. amounted to four thousand, he left his baggage seventeen 
miles in the rear, and approached the enemy to give them 
battle. It was in the vicinity of Guilford Court House. 
15_' He drew his army up in two lines ; the militia, in whom 
he had little confidence, as they were apt to give way at 
the first charge, he placed behind a fence, and stationed 
sentries in the rear, with orders to shoot the first man 
who should run. The battle was fought in a region cov- 
ered with thick woods, with cleared fields interspersed. 
The North Carolina militia could not withstand the shock 
of the British charge, but threw down their arms and fled. 
The Virginia militia, under Colonel Stevens, stood their 
ground, and for a time kept up a destructive fire ; but 
they too were compelled to yield to the bayonet. Now 
the enemy pressed on in pursuit, but presently Colonel 
Warshington charged them with bis horse, and drove them 
back. Then again the British artillery opened upon the 
American pursirers, and they in turn were checked. 
Greene depended much on his Continentals, but one of 
the newly-raised Maryland regiments gave way before a 
battalion led by Colonel Stewart. The battalion was 
presently checked by Colonel Washington's cavalry, and 
the brave Stewart was himself slain. It was impossible 
to retrieve what the North Carolina militia had lost, and 
Greene ordered a retreat, which he conducted with his 
usual skill. 

Though Greene retreated from the field, Cornwallis 
was unable to pursue. More than a thousand of the mili- 
tia deserted and returned home, and Greene's army was 
soon as weak as ever. This has been thought one of the 
severest battles of the whole war. " The wounded of both , 
armies lay scattered over a wide space. There were no 
houses nor tents to receive them. The night that followed 
the battle was dark and tempestuous ; horrid shrieks re- 



CONFLICT AT HOBKIRK'S HILL. 495 

sounded through the woods ; many expired before morn- i'^.f P-. 
ing. Such is war ! " 

Cornwallis's army was so broken by this' battle, and 1781. 
weakened by desertions and sickness, that it numbered 
but about fourteen hundred men. He was compelled to 
abandon his position, and fall back to Wilmington, near 
the seaboard. After recruiting his men, Greene boldly 
marched into South Carolina, and advanced rapidly upon 
Camden, where Lord Eawdon with a small force held April 
command. That central position was connected, on the 
one hand, with Charleston, and on the other with the 
strong forts of Ninety-Six and Augusta. Between these 
important points, there were several smaller posts. Lee 
and Marion were sent, with their cavalry, to attack 
some of these. Greene himself advanced within two 
miles of the British lines, and encamped at Hobkirk's 
Hill, near a swamp which covered his left. Eawdon 
thought to surprise the Americans, made a circuit of the 
swamp, and came suddenly upon the camp ; but the sur- 
prise was only partial. Greene promptly formed his line. 
In moving along a narrow passage, the British were ex- 
posed to a severe fire, and the American infantry were 
about to attack them in flank, while the horse, under 
Colonel Washington, moved to charge them in the rear. 
Eawdon brought up his reserve to counteract this move- April 
ment. A regiment of Continentals, in the American ^^^ 
centre, and upon whom Greene depended very much, 
unexpectedly gave way, and thus threw the army into 
confusion, and a retreat was ordered. 

The loss on each side was nearly equal ; the Americans, 
however, brought off their cannon, and checked the i^ursuit. 
In the mean while several fortified places belonging to the 
British fell into the hands of Lee and Marion, thus breaking 
up the communication between Charleston and the interior. 

Eawdon abandoned Camden, and retreated to Monk's 
Corner, in the vicinity of Charleston. 



18, 



496 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. Greene marclied against the strong post of Ninety-Six, 

but after besieging it for some time, be heard that Kawdon 

1781. bad been reinforced, and was tben hastening to relieve it. 
After making a vigorous attempt to take the place by 
assault, he raised the siege and retreated across the Sa- 
Jnne luda. The heat had now become excessive, and both 
armies retired from active operations : the American on 
the hills of the Santee, and the British on the Congaree. 
The British had lost in the space of seven months the 
greater part of South Carolina, and were now restricted to 
the region between the Santee and the Lower Savannah. 
The partisan warfare continued, although the main armies 
were at rest. 

The British resolved to execute as traitors those who 
had given their parole not to engage in the war or had re- 
ceived a protection, if they should be taken prisoners with 
arms in their bands. A distinguished citizen of Charleston, 
Colonel Isaac Hayne, had been taken prisoner at the cap- 
ture of that city, but owing to family afflictions — a sick 
and dying wife and helpless children — he gave his parole 
to remain neutral, and was promised protection. In vio- 
lation of this pledge, he was soon after ordered to take up 
arms against his counti-ymcn. He refused ; but instead 
deemed himself justified in again joining the American 
army. 

He was again taken prisoner, and now condemned to 
die as a traitor. The inhabitants of Charleston, Whig and 
Tory, petitioned for his pardon, yet Kawdon refused, and 
Hayne was hanged. His execution was looked upon as 
contrary to military rule, cruel and unjust. In the minds 
of the Whigs the bitterest animosity was excited. Greene 
threatened to retaliate. The American soldiers were with 
difficulty restrained from putting to death the British offi- 
cers Avhom they took prisoners. 

When the heat of the weather somewhat abated, 
Greene moved from the hills up the Wateree to Camden, 



BATTLE OF EUTAW SPRINGS. 497 

and thence across the Congaree and down it to the vicinity ^^^^: 

of Eutaw Springs. The British, now under Colonel Stuart, 

retired before him ; but the Americans surprised a large 1Y81. 
foraging party and took a number of j^risoners. The re- 
mainder escaped and joined their main force, which im- 
mediately drew up in order of battle. Though the attack 
was made with great ardor, the enemy withstood it with 
determined bravery. The contest raged most fiercely 
around the artillery, which changed hands several times. 
The British left at length gave way, and the Americans 
pursued, but presently the fugitives took possession of a 
large stone house, surrounded by a picketed garden. From 
this place they could not be immediately dislodged. A Sept. 
British battalion, which had successfully resisted a charge ^• 
of the Americans, suddenly appeared at the rear of the 
assailants. The latter, disconcerted by this movement, 
and thrown into confusion, began to retreat. 

The force of each army was about two thousand. The 
loss of the British was seven hundred, and that of the 
Americans about five hundred. 

The victory was claimed by both parties, but the ad- 
vantage was certainly on the side of the Americans. 
Colonel Stuart, the British commander, thought it pru- 
dent to fall back to the vicinity of Charleston. Greene re- 
tired again to the hills of Santee to refresh his men, who were 
wretchedly off for necessaries, being barefooted and half- 
clad, out of hospital stores, and nearly out of ammunition. 

Greene's military talents had been severely tested 
during this campaign ; he was as successful in attacking 
as he was in avoiding his enemies. In no instance was he 
really equal to them in force and equipments ; but he 
never fought a battle that did not result more to his ad- 
vantage than to that of the enemy. Their very victories 
were to them as injurious as ordinary defeats. It is not 
strange that he was the favorite officer of the Commander- 
in-chief 

32 



ilay. 



498 HISTOKT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

xxxvii. While these events were in progress in the South, a series 

of important operations were also in train in the North. 

1781. Tj^gj-e were two objects, one of which might be attained : 
New York might be taken, as its garrison had been much 
weakened by sending detachments to the South; or Corn- 
wallis might be captured in Virginia. But neither of 
these could be accomplished without the aid of a French 
army as well as fleet. While the matter was under con- 
sideration, a frigate arrived from France bringing the 
Count De Barras, who was to command the French fleet 
at Newport, and also the cheering news that twenty ships 
of the line, under the Count de Grasse, with land forces on 
board, were shortly to sail for the West Indies, and that 
a portion of this fleet and forces might be expected on 
the coast of the United States in the course of a few 
months. Washington and the Count de Rochambeau had 
an interview at Weathersfield, Connecticut, to devise a 
plan of operations. They determined to make an attack 
upon New York. The French army was soon to be 
put in motion to form a junction with the American on 
the Hudson, and a frigate was despatched to inform the 
Count de Grasse of the plan, and to invite his coopera 
tion. 

Chnton, suspecting the designs against New York, be- 
came alarmed, and ordered Cornwallis, who was at Wil- 
liamsburg, Virginia, to send him a reinforcement of troops. 
To comply with this order, the latter marched toward Ports- 
mouth. Lafayette and Steuben cautiously followed. Their 
men numbered about four thousand ; the army of Corn- 
wallis was much more numerous and better appointed. 
Lafayette intended to attack the rear-guard of the British 
6. when the main body had passed James Eiver. Cornwallis 
suspected the design, and laid his plans to entrap the 
Marquis. He sent over a portion of his troops with the 
pack-horses, and so arranged them as to make a great dis- 
play ; then threw in the way of the Americans a negro 



DARING ATTACK BY WAYNE. 499 

and a dragoon, wlio pretended to be deserters, and they yy^ yjy 

announced tliat the main body of the British army had . 

passed the river. Lafayette immediately detached Wayne l'^81. 
with a body of riflemen and dragoons to commence 
the attack, while he himself should advance to his sup- 
port. 

Wayne moved forward, forced a picket, which de- 
signedly gave way, but presently he found himself close 
upon the main body of the enemy. In a moment he saw 
that he had been deceived. Wayne's daring nature de- 
cided his course : he at once ordered a charge to be 
sounded ; his men, horse and foot, caught his spirit, and 
with shouts, as if sure of victory, they dashed against the 
enemy with great impetuosity, gallantly continued the 
fight for a short time, and then as rapidly retreated. The 
ruse succeeded admhably. CornwaUis, astounded at the 
boldness and vigor of the attack, hesitated to pursue, 
thinking the movement was designed to lead him into an 
ambuscade. This delay enabled Lafayette to extricate 
himself from his dangerous position. 

Comwallis now crossed the river, but whUe the detach- 
ment designed for New York was embarking, a second com- 
munication was received from Clinton. He now announced 
the arrival of reinforcements of Hessians from Europe, and 
also directed CornwaUis to retain all his force, and choose 
some central position in Virginia, and there fortify himself. 
In accordance with this command, the latter chose the 
towns of Gloucester and Yorktown, situated opposite each 
other on York Eivcr. Here, with an army of eight thou- 
sand effective men, he threw up strong intrenchments, 
and also moored in the harbor a number of frigates and 
other vessels of war. 

The financial affairs of the country continued in a de- 
plorable condition. Congress hoped to remedy the evil by 



500 HISTOEY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

jom^^i appointing ca single superintendent of finance, instead of 

the committee to whom it had hitherto been intrusted. 

1781. Eobert Morris, an eminent merchant of Philadelphia, one 
of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, received 
the appointment. He accepted the office only on the ex- 
press condition, that all transactions should be in sjjecie 
value. The results vindicated the wisdom of the choice ; the 
genius in furnishing the " sinews of war " was as efficient 
as that disjilayed by others in the field. At his instance 
Congress established the Bank of North America, with a 
capital of two millions of dollars, and to continue in force 
for ten years. The bank was pledged to redeem its notes 
in specie on presentation. This feature of the institution 
at once secured the confidence of the public, and the 
wealthy invested in it their funds. Operating by means 
of the bank, Morris raised the credit of Congress higher 
than it ever stood before ; and he was also enabled, in a 
great measure, to furnish supplies for the army and pay 
for the soldiers. Whenever public means failed he pledged 
his own credit. 

Washington, on his return from the interview with 
Eochambeau, addressed letters to the authorities of New 
Jersey and New England, urging them in this emergency 
to furnish provisions and their quotas of men. But they 
were dilatory and unable to comply, and he had but five 
thousand effective men at Peekskill, and they would have 
been destitute of provisions, had it not been for the energy 
of Morris. 

The French army had remained inactive eleven months 
at Newport ; it now moved to join Washington in the 
July- Highlands. Information was received from the Count de 
Grrasse that he would shortly sail with a large fleet for the 
United States. Washington and Eochambeau hastened 
their preparations to cooperate with him uj^on his arrival 
in the proposed attack on New York. An intercepted 
letter gave CHnton the knowledge of these movements, and 



CLINTON DECEIVED. THE AKMY ON THE MARCH. 501 

he was soon on the alert to defend the city. The British chap. 

XXXVII. 

posts on Manhattan Island were reconnoitred by the Amer- ' 



icans, the combined armies were encamped at Dobbs' Ferry 1781. 
and on the Greenburg hills, waiting for reinforcements and 
the Count de Grasse. Presently came a frigate from the 
Count to Newport with the intelligence that he intended Aug. 
to sail for the Chesapeake. This information disconcerted 
all their plans ; now they must direct their forces against 
Cornwallis. To accomplish this effectively Clinton must 
be deceived and Cornwallis kept in ignorance. To " mis- 
guide and bewUder" Sir Henry, a space for a large en- 
campment was marked out in New Jersey, near Staten 
Island ; boats were collected ; ovens were built as if pre- 
paring for the sustenance of a large army ; pioneers were 
sent to clear roads toward King's Bridge, and pains were 
taken to keep the American soldiers ignorant of their own 
destination. 

General Lincoln was sent with the first division of the 
army across the Jerseys ; he was followed by the French. 
Wagons were in company to carry the packs of the soldiers, 
to enable them to move with more rapidity. Washington 
sent orders to Lafayette, who was yet in Virginia, to take 
a position to prevent Cornwallis retreating to North Caro- 
lina ; to retain Wayne with his Pennsylvanians, and to 
communicate with General Greene. He also wrote to the 
Count de Grasse, who would soon be in the Chesapeake. 

Thus were the plans skilfully laid by which the con- 
test was brought to a happy issue. When the Northern 
soldiers arrived in the vicinity of Philadelphia, and found 
that they were really going against Cornwallis, they mani- 
fested some discontent in prospect of the long southern 
march in the month of August. At this critical moment, 
John Laurens, son of Henry Laurens, President of Con- 
gress, arrived from France, whither he had been sent to 
obtain aid ; he brought with him a large supply of clothing, 
ammunition, and arms ; and what was just then very 



502 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, much wanted, half a million of dollars. By means of this, 

and with the aid of Morris, the soldiers received a portion 

1781. of their pay in cash. Their good humor was restored, and 
they cheerfully marched on. 

De Barras, who commanded the French fleet at New- 
Aug. port, suddenly put to sea. Clinton at once divined the 
object was to unite, in the Chesapeake, with another 
French fleet from the West Indies ; and he sent Admiral 
Graves to j^revent the junction. The admiral was aston- 
ished to find De Grasse, with twenty-five sail of the line, 
anchored within the Capes. De Grasse ran out to sea, as 
if to give the British battle, but really to divert their at- 
Sept. tention until De Barras could enter the Bay. For five 
days the hostile fleets mauceuvred and skirmished. Mean- 
while De Barras appeared and passed within the Capes, 
and immediately De Grasse followed. Graves now re- 
turned to New York. 

Until the main body of the combined armies was be- 
yond the Delaware, Clinton sujijDOsed the movement was a 
•^spt- ruse to draw him out to fight in the open fields. Corn- 
wallis himself was as much deceived ; thinking he would 
have Lafayette only to contend with, he wrote to Clinton 
that he could spare him twelve hundred men to aid in de- 
fending New York. Not until he was fairly in the toils, 
when the French fleet had anchored within the Capes, did 
he apprehend his danger. 

Thinking that jjerhaps a portion of the American army 
might be sent back to defend New England, Clinton sent 
Arnold with a force, composed principally of Tories and 
Hessians, on a marauding expedition into Connecticut. 
But Washington was not to be diverted from his high pur- 
pose. While he and De Kochambcau are pushing on to- 
ward the head of the Chesapeake, let us turn aside to 
to speak of this maraud, which closes the career of the 
traitor in his own country. 



NEW LONDON BURNED BY ARNOLD. 503 

New London was tlie first to be plundered and iLJiuned, ..P-HAP. 

and there Arnold destroyed an immense amount of prop- 

erty. Fort Griswold, commanded by Colonel William 1781. 
Ledyard — brother of the celebrated traveller — was situated 
on the opposite shore of the river. This was assaulted, 
and after an obstinate resistance, in which the British lost 
two hundred men and their two highest officers, it was 
carried. When the enemy entered, the Americans laid 
down their arms, but the massacre continued. Major 
Bromfield, a New Jersey tory, by the death of the two 
higher oiBcers, became the leader of the assailants. Tra- 
dition tells that when he entered the fort he inquired who 
commanded, and that Colonel Ledyard came forward, say- 
ing, " I did, sir ; but you do now ; " at the same time Sept. 
handing him his sword : that Bromfield took the sword 
and plunged it into Ledyard's breast. This was the sig- 
nal for indiscriminate slaughter, and more than sixty of 
the yeomanry of Connecticut were massacred in cold blood. 
The militia began to collect in great numbers from the 
neighboring towns. Arnold dared not meet his enraged 
countrymen, and he hastily re-embarked. These outrages 
were committed almost in sight of his birthplace. Thus 
closed " a career of ambition without virtue, of glory ter- 
minated with crime, and of depravity ending in infamy 
and ruin." 

The combined armies arrived at Elkton, where they g j. 
found transports sent by Lafayette and De Grasse to con- 27. 
vey them to the scene of action. Previously De Grasse 
had landed three thousand troops under the marquis St. 
Simon, to unite with the forces under Lafayette, Steuben, 
and Wayne. 

As had. been anticipated, Cornwallis endeavored to 
force his way to the Carohnas, but the youthful marquis, 
whom some months before he had characterized as a " boy," 
was on the alert. He then sent off expresses with urgent 



504 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

x'vvv^'r ^PP®^^'' to Clinton to send him aid. In the mean time he 

was indefatigable in strengthening his fortifications. 

1781. The combined forces, French and American, were 

about twelve thousand, besides the Virginia militia called 
out bj' Gorernor Nelson, who, as the State treasury was 
empty, pledged his own property as security to obtain a 
loan of money to defray the expenses. The Governor 
was a resident of Yorktown, and when the cannonade 
was about to commence, he was asked where the attack 
would be most effective : "He pointed to a large, hand- 
some house on a rising ground as the 23robable head-quar- 
ters of the enemy. It proved to be his own." 

The plan of operations were speedily arranged, and the 
allies began to press the siege with great vigor. Their 
lines were within six hundred yards of the enemy's works, 
which they completely surrounded. General Washington 
himself put the match to the first gun. The heavy ord- 
nance brought by De Barras was soon thundering at the 
fortifications. The British outworks were very strong, 
and beyond these were thrown up redoubts to hinder the 
approach of the assailants. The cannonade continued for 
four days ; the enemy's outworks were greatly damaged 
and guns dismounted, while a forty-four gun shiji and 
other vessels were burned by means of red-hot shot thrown 
by the French. Cornwalhs withdrew his men from the 
outworks, but the redoubts remained. Two of these were 
to be stormed ; one assigned to the French, the other to 
^''}- the Americans. The assault was made about eight o'clock 
in the evening. The Americans, under Alexander Ham- 
ilton, were the first to enter ; they scrambled over the 
parapet without regard to order, and carried the redoubt 
at the point of the bayonet. The French captured theirs, 
but according to rule, and they suffered more than the 
Americans in their headlong attack. The emulation ex- 
hibited by both parties was generous and nolile. From 



14. 



SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS. 505 

these captured redoubts a hundred heavy cannon poured ^^^^j 

in an incessant storm of balls. Cornwallis, as he saw his 

works one by one crumbling to pieces, his guns disabled, 1781. 
his ammunition failing, determined to make a desperate 
sally and check the besiegers. The British soldiers, a 
little before daybreak, suddenly rushed out, and carried 
two batteries, but scarcely had they obtained possession 
of them, before the French in turn furiously charged, and 
drove them back to their own intrenchments. But one 
avenue of escape was left ; — they must cross the river to Oct. 
Gloucester, cut a way through the opposing force, and by 
forced marches reach New York. CornwaUis resolved to 
abandon his sick and wounded and baggage, and make the 
desperate attempt. Boats were collected, and in the night 
a portion of the troops crossed over ; the second division 
was embarking, when suddenly the sky was overcast, and 
a storm of wind and rain arrested the movement. It was 
now daylight. The first division with difficulty recrossed 
to Yorktown, as on the river they were subjected to the 
fire of the American batteries. Despairing of assistance 
from Clinton, and unwilling to risk the eff'ect of an assault 
upon his shattered works, or to wantonly throw away the 
lives of his soldiers, he sent to Washington an offer to sur- 
render. The terms were arranged, and on the 19th of *^g'* 
October, in the presence of thousands of patriots assembled 
from the neighboring country, Cornwallis surrendered seven 
thousand men as prisoners of war to Washington, as com- 
mander-in-chief of the combined army, and the shipping, 
seamen, and naval stores to the Count de Grasse. 

At Charleston, when Lincoln capitulated, the Ameri- 
cans were not permitted to march out with their colors fiy- 
ing, as had been granted to Burgoyne, but with their colors 
cased. It was thought proper to deny them the courtesy 
granted at Saratoga, and the British soldiers were directed 
to march out with their colors cased ; and Lincoln was 
deputed by Washington to receive the sword of Cornwallis. 



506 HISTORY OF THE UKITED STATES. 

CHAP. Washington sent one of his aids to carry the joyful 

news to the Congress at Philadelj^hia. He reached the 

1781. city at midnight. Soon the old State-house bell, that 
five years before signaUzed to the people that the Declara- 
tion of Independence was made, now awoke the slumbering 
city to hear the watchmen cry, " Cornwallis is taken ! 
Cornwallis is taken ! " The inhabitants by thousands 
rushed into the streets to congratulate each other. Con- 
gress met the nest morning and proceeded in a body to a 
church, and there publicly oflered thanks to Almighty God 
for the special favor He had manifested to their struggHng 
country, then issued a proclamation appointing a day for 
national thanksgiving and prayer, " in acknowledgment of 
the signal interposition of Divine Providence." Through- 
out the whole land arose the voice of thanksgiving from 
the families of the patriots, from the pulpits, from the 
army. Never did a nation rejoice more. The clouds of 
uncertainty and doubt were dispelled ; the patriots were 
exultant in the prospect of peace and of the established 
freedom of their country. Their intelligence enabled them 
to appreciate the blessings for which they had so long 
struggled. 

If the battle of Bunker Hill, or the evacuation of Bos- 
ton, had led to a reconciliation with the mother country, 
how different had been their feelings. Then an affection, 
a reverence for England would have lingered, only to re- 
tard the progress of the Colonists — at best but half-forgiven 
rebels — and hold them subordinate to her, not so much in 
political dependence as formerly, but sufficient to stifle that 
sentiment of nationality, so essential to the proper develop- 
ment of their character and of the resources of the country. 
We have seen how long it took illiberal laws, en- 
forced in a tyrannical manner, to alienate their affections. 
It now required a seven years' struggle of war, outrage 
and suffering, dangers and privations, to induce a pervad- 
ing national sentiment, rouse the energies of the peojile 



THE CONTINENTAL SOLBIEES. 507 

give tliem confidence, and lead them to sympathize with S3^^:, 

each other. 

Congress voted thanks to Washington, to the Counts 1781. 
De Eochambeau and De Grasse, and to the army gener- 
ally. Eulogies were showered upon the Commander-in- 
chief ; — the spontaneous out^jourings of a grateful people, 
who, during the darkest hours of the contest, had in him 
unbounded confidence. 

Yorktown was now a name to be honored even beyond 
those of Bunker Hill and Saratoga. How much was involved 
in that surrender ! The long struggle was virtually ended. 
It had been a contest not for power, not for aggrandize- 
ment, but for a great truth and principle, which had been 
overshadowed by authority and pressed down by arbitrary 
rule. Said Lafayette to Napoleon, when he sneered at 
the smallness of the armies engaged in the American 
Eevolution : " It was the grandest of causes, won by the 
skirmishes of sentinels and outposts," It is true that the 
number who fell on the battle-fields was comparatively 
small. The names of but few of these have come down to 
us ; they were written only on the hearts of friends and 
relatives who mourned their loss. Scarcely was there a 
family but had a precious record ; the cherished memory 
of some one who had thus sacrificed his life. 

Note. — The number of soldiers furnished by each State to the Con- 
tinental army, during the war, may he seen by the following table : 



Massachusetts, . 


. 67,907 


North Carolina, . 


. 7,263 


Connecticut, . 


31,939 


South Carolina, 


6,417 


Virginia, 


. 20,678 


Rhode Island, 


. 5,908 


Pennsylvania, 


25,678 


Georgia, . 


2,679 


New York, 


. 17,781 


Delaware, . 


. 2,386 


Maryland, 
New Hampsliire, 


13,912 

. 12,497 








231,791 


New Jersey, . 


10,726 







CHAPTEE XXXVIII. 

CLOSING EVENTS OF THE WAR— FORMATION OP THE CONSTI- 
TUTION. 

British Efforts Paralyzed. — The States form Independent Governments. — 
Indian Wars. — Massacre of the Christian DelaTvares. — Battle of the Blue 
Lick. — Carlcton supersedes Clinton. — Commissioners of Peace. — The 
common Distress. — Dissatisfaction in the Army. — The " Anonymous 
Address." — Peace concluded. — British Prisoners ; the Tories. — Disband- 
ment of the American Army. — Washington takes leave of his Officers. 
— Resigns his Commission. — Shay's Rebellion. — Interests of the States 
clash. — The Constitutional Convention. — The Constitution ratified by 
the States. — The Territory North-west of the Ohio. — Ecclesiastical Or- 
ganizations. 

Yxxvnr ^^ *^® ^^^^ ^^^ *^^* Comwallls surrendered, Clinton 

sailed to his aid with seven thousand men. When off the 

1781. entrance to the Chesapeake, he learned, to his astonish- 
ment, that all was lost. As the British fleet was much 
inferior to that of the French, he hastily returned to New 
York. 

Washington requested Count de Grasse to cooperate 
with General Greene in an attack upon Charleston, but 
De Grasse pleaded the necessity of his presence in the 
West Indies, and excused himself. The Americans now 
returned to their old quarters on the Hudson. The French 
army wintered at Williamsburg in Virginia, while the 
British prisoners were marched to Winchester. 

The capture of Cornwallis paralyzed the efforts of the 



THE STATE GOVERNMENTS — BOEDER WARFARE. 509 

British and Tories. In the South they evacuated all the ^™ap-^ 

posts in their possession, except Savannah and Charleston ; 

before the latter place Greene soon appeared, and disposed 1781. 
his forces so as to confine them closely to the town. In 
the North, the only place held by the enemy was New 
York. 

Washington never for a moment relaxed his watchfiil- 
ness, hut urged upon Congress and the States to prepare 
for a vigorous campaign the next year. But so impover- 
ished had the country become, that to raise men and money 
seemed almost impossible, while the prospect of peace 
furnished excuses for delay. 

The several States now took measures to form inde- 
pendent governments, or to strengthen or modify those 
akeady in existence. Some of these had been hastily 
formed, and, consequently, were more or less defective. 
The custom was introduced of sending delegates to con- 
ventions called for the purpose of framing constitutions, 
which were submitted to the people for their approval or 
rejection. The common law of England was adopted, and 
made the basis in the administration of justice in the 
courts. 

A cruel border warfare was still continued by incur- 
sions of Indians against the back settlements of Pennsyl- 
vania and Virginia, and against the frontiers of New York, 
by Indians and Tories. 

Many of the Delaware Indians, under the influence of 
Moravian teachers, had become Christian, and so far im- 
bibed the principles of their instructors as to be opposed 
to war. Some of these, nearly twenty years before, had 
emigrated from the banks of the Susquehanna and settled 
on the Muskingum, where they had three flourishing vil- 
lages, surrounded by corn-fields. The hostile Indians 
from the lakes, in their incursions against the frontiers 
of Pennsylvania and Virginia, robbed these Delawares of 



510 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

("BAP. their provisions. The Delawares became objects of sus- 

'. picion to both the hostile Indians and the whites. The 

1781. former accused them of revealing their plans, the latter of 
conniving at the incursions of their enemies, and the hostile 
Indians compelled them to emigrate to the vicinity of San- 
dusky. 

In the mean time, murders had been committed by the 
Shawanese in the vicinity of Pittsburg. A company of 
eighty or ninety back^voodsmen volunteered, under a Colo- 
nel Williamson, to take revenge on the supposed murderers 
— the Christian Delawares — a portion of whom had re- 
turned to their old home to gather their corn. The expe- 
dition reached the vUlages on the Muskingum, collected 
the victims, it would seem, under the pretence of friend- 
ship, then barbarously and in cold blood murdered about 
1782 ninety of these inoilensive creatures, — men, women, and 
children. 

This success excited to other invasions, and four hun- 
dred and eighty men, under Colonels Williamson and 
Crawford, marched from Western Pennsylvania to surprise 
the remnants of the Christian Indians at Sandusky, and 
also to attack the village of the hostile Wyandottes. The 
June Indians learned of their apj)roach, waited for them in am- 
6- bush, and defeated them ; took many prisoners, among 
whom were Crawford, his son, and son-in-law. These three 
they burned at the stake. 

About the same time, a large body of the Indians 
north of the Ohio, led by the infamous Simon Girty, a 
toiy refugee, invaded Kentucky. They were met by the 
Kentuckians, under Colonels Boone, Todd, and Triggs, at 
the Big Blue Lick, when a bloody and desperate encounter 
ensued. But overwhelmed by numbers, nearly one-half 
the Kentuckians were either killed or taken prisoners. 

After the capture at Yorktown no battle occurred be- 
tween the main armies, and but one or two skirmishes. 
"^" In one of these, in the vicinity of Charleston, the yoimger 



PEOPLE OF ENGLAND DESIRE TO CLOSE THE WAR. 511 

Laurens was slain — a young man of great promise, wlio chap. 
was universally lamented. 

Among the Englisli people at large the desire to close 1782. 
the war had greatly increased. With them it had ever 
been impopular ; they were unwilling that their brethren 
beyond the Atlantic should be deprived of the rights which 
they themselves so much valued. The intelligence of the sur- 
render of Cornwallis created among them stronger opposi- 
tion than ever to the harsh measures of the Government. 
Yet the war party — the King and Ministry, and the majority 
of the aristocracy — -were vmwilling to yield to the pressure 
of public opinion. They were thunderstruck at this unex- 
pected disaster. Says a British writer: "Lord North re- 
ceived the intelligence of the capture of Cornwallis as he 
would have done a cannon-ball in his breast ; he paced the 
room, and throwing his arms wildly about, kept exclaiming, 
' God ! it is all over ; it is all over ! ' " For twelve years he 
had been prime minister. The pliant servant of the King, 
he had ever been in favor of prosecuting the war, but now 
the voice of the English people compelled him to resign. 

Sir Guy Carleton, whom we have seen winning the re- 
spect of the Americans, by his upright and honorable con- 
duct when Governor of Canada, was appointed to succeed 
Sir Henry Clinton. Li the following May he arrived at 
New York, empowered to make propositions for peace. He 
immediately addressed a letter to Washington, proposing 
a cessation of hostilities, and also issued orders, in which 
he forbade the marauding incursions of the Indians and 
Tories on the frontiers of Western New York. 

Congress appointed five commissioners to conclude a 
treaty with Great Britain. These were : John Adams, 
Doctor Franklin, John Jay, Henry Laurens, who, lately 
released from his confinement in the Tower, was yet in 
London, and Thomas Jefferson ; — the latter, however, de- 
clined to serve. They met at Paris two British Commis- 
sioners, who had been authorized to treat with "certain 



512 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 

CHAP colonies" named in their instructions. The American 
Commissioners refused to enter upon negotiations, unless 

1782. in the name of the " United States of America ; " — they 
claimed the right to he recognized a power among the 
nations. This right was acknowledged by Britain, and on 
the 30th of November the parties signed a preliminary 
treaty, which Congress ratified the following April. Ne- 
gotiations continued, and the final treaty was signed on 

1783. the 3d of September following. France and England in 
the mean time likewise concluded a treaty of peace. The 
American Commissioners also negotiated treaties of com- 
merce with Spain and Holland. 

Though the war was ended, the American people had 
numberless difficulties with which to contend. The army, 
that through the many trials of the contest had remained 
faithful, was in a deplorable condition. The half-pay for 
life, which, three years before, Congress had promised to 
the oSicers, proved to be only a promise. Washington 
wrote confidentially to the Secretary of War in behalf of 
those about to be discharged from the service : ' " I cannot 
heli^ fearing the result, when I see such a number of men 
about to be turned on the world, soured by penury, in- 
volved in debts, without one farthing to carry them home, 
after having spent the flower of their days, and many of 
them their jiatrimonies, in establishing the freedom and 
independence of their country, and having suffered every 
thing which human nature is capable of enduring on this 
side of death. You may rely upon it, the patience and long 
sufi'erance of this army are almost exhausted, and there 
never was so great a spirit of discontent as at this instant." 
Mar. At this crisis an address, plausibly written, was privately 
circulated in the camp. It suggested to the officers and 
men the propriety of taking upon themselves to redress 
their grievances ; that they should intimidate Congress 
and compel it to pay their just demands. 



THE ANONYMOUS ADDEESSES. 513 

The address seems to liave been the embodied senti- chap. 

YYVyTTT 

ments of some half dozen officers, although written by 

Captain Armstrong, the son of General Armstrong of 1783. 
Pennsylvania. A call was issued for a meeting of the 
officers, but the next morning, in the regular orders for the 
day, Washington took occasion to disapprove of the meet- 
ing as a violation of discipline. He also named a day for 
the ofi&cers to assemble and hear the report of a committee 
of their number who had been sent to lay their demands 
before Congress. The next day a second anonymous ad- 
dress was issued, but somewhat more moderate in tone 
than the first. The ofiicers met according to appoint- 
ment, and Gates, being second in command, was made 
chairman of the meeting. Washington presently came in, 
made them a soothing address, appealed to their patriotism 
and to their own fair fame in toiling for their country, and 
now were they wilUng to tarnish their name or distrust 
their country's justice ? He pledged his word to use his 
influence with Congress to fulfil its promises. He then 
withdrew. The meeting passed resolutions which con- 
demned in severe terms the spirit of the anonymous ad- 
dress. 

Congress soon after resolved to accede to the proposi- 
tion of the officers, and change the promise of half pay for 
life, to that of full pay for five years. And also to advance 
to the soldiers full pay for four months. 

This was not the only instance in which the influence 
of Washington arrested plots designed to ruin the prospects 
of the young republic. The condition of the country was 
so desperate that many feared the States could not form a 
permanent government. At the suggestion of officers 
who thus thought, Lewis Nicola, a foreigner, a colonel in 
the Pennsylvania line, wrote Washington an elaborate 
letter, in which he discussed the expediency of estabhsh- 
ing a monarchy, and finally offered him the crown. Wash- 
ington indignantly condemned the scheme. Said he : "I 
33 



514 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP cannot conceive what I have done during my whole life, 

which coiild cause any one to imagine that I could enter- 

1783. tain such a proposition for a moment." 

When these facts became known, it was not strange 
that the people feared a standing army. 

Intelligence came at length of the signing of the treaty 
between the United States and Great Britain. Congress 
issued a proclamation giving the information to the nation. 
April On the 19th of April, precisely eight years from the battle 
of Lexington, the cessation of hostilities was proclaimed in 
the camp at Newburg. 

The soldiers of BurgojTie and CornwaUis were yet pris- 
oners, and had been marched to New York in order to be sent 
home. A general exchange of prisoners now took place. 
The prospects of the Tories were dreary indeed. The se- 
vere laws enacted against them were still in force, and now 
several thousand of them had assembled at New York, and 
were compelled to leave the country. The majority of 
them were wealthy. During the war many of them had 
held offices in the British service, and some had grown rich 
as merchants, landowners, and sutlers for the British army ; 
others, the unscrupulous, by privateering. Those who 
lived in the North emigrated to Canada and Nova Scotia, 
while those of the South went chiefly to the West India 
Islands. 

A clause was inserted in the treaty which prohibited 
the carrj'ing away of the slaves, large numbers of whom 
had fled to the British army during the campaigns in the 
Carolinas and Virginia. 

Carleton refused to comply with the demand, on the 
ground that it woidd be highly dishonorable to deUver 
them up since they had sought protection under the Brit- 
ish flag. To secure their safety, he sent them away among 
the very first, while at the same time he kept an accurate 



DISBANDMENT OF THE ARMY. 515 

list of their number, leaving to future negotiation indem- f'HAP. 
nity lor their loss. 

These negroes, now liberated, were first taken to Nova 1783. 
Scotia ; afterward, a large number of them emigrated to 
Sierra Leone : " Their descendants, as merchants and 
traders, now constitute the wealthiest and most intelligent 
population of that African colony." 

Before the disbandment of the army, Washington ad- 
dressed a letter to the Governors of the several States, June, 
urging them to guard against the prejudices of one part of 
the countiy against another ; to encourage union among 
the States, and to make provision for the jjublic debt. 

On the 3d of November the army was disbanded, ^^ov. 
These patriot soldiers returned to their homes, to mingle 
with their fellow-citizens, and enjoy the blessings which 
their valor liad obtained for themselves and their posterity. 
From that day the title of revolutionary soldier has been a 
title of honor. 

Before the officers of the army finally separated, they 
formed a society known as the Cincinnati — a name de- 
rived from the celebrated farmer-patriot of Kome. The 
association was to be perpetuated chiefly through the 
eldest male descendants of the original members. But as 
this feature, in the eyes of many, seemed to favor an 
hereditary aristocracy, it was stricken out ; still the so- 
ciety continued to be to some parties an object of jealousy. 

As soon as preparations could be made, the British 
evacuated the few places occupied by their troops ; New 
York on the 25th of November, and Charleston in the fol- Nov. 
lowing month. General Knox, with a small body of troops, 
and accompanied by Governor George CUuton and the 
State officers, entered New York as the British were leaving, 

A few days after, the officers of the army assembled at 
a public house to bid farewell to their beloved commander. Deo. 
Presently Washington entered ; his emotions were too 
strong to be concealed. After a moment's pause he said : 



516 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP " With a heart full of love and gratitude, I now take leave 
ajla V III , 
of you ; I most devoutly v?isb that your latter days may 

1763. be as prosperous and happy, as your former ones have been 
glorious and honorable." He then added: "I cannot 
come to each of you to take my leave, but shall be obliged 
if each of you will come and take my hand." General 
Knox, being the nearest, turned to him. Washington, 
affected even to tears, grasped his band and embraced him. 
In the same affectionate manner be took leave of each 
succeeding officer : " The tear of manly sensibility was in 
every eye ; not a word was spoken to interrupt the digni- 
fied silence and the tenderness of the scene. Leaving the 
room, he passed through the corps of light infantry, to the 
barge which was to convey him across the river. The 
whole company followed in mute and solemn procession, 
with dejected countenances, testifying to feehngs of de- 
licious melancholy, which no language can describe. Hav- 
ing entered the barge, he turned to the company, and, 
waving his hat, bade them a silent adieu. They paid him 
the same affectionate compliment." ' 

On his way to Annapolis, where Congress was in 
session, he left with the controller at Philadelphia an ac- 
curate account of his esiienses during the war ; they 
amounted to sixty-four thousand dollars. These accounts 
were in his own handwriting, and kept in the most perfect 
manner ; every charge made was accompanied by a men- 
tion of the occasion and object. 

In an interview with Congress, he made a short ad- 
dress. Said he : " The successful termination of the war 
has verified the most sanguine expectations ; and my 
■pgj, gratitude for the interposition of Providence, and the as- 
25. sistance I have received from my countrymen, increases 
with every review of the momentous contest." Then 
recommending to the favorable notice of Congress the 

' Judge Marshall. 



■WASHINGTON RESIGNS HIS COMMISSION. 517 

officers of Lis staff, and expressing his obligations to the „^^4Sv 

army in general, he continued : " I consider it as an in- 

dispensable duty to close this last act of my official life, by 1V83. 
commending the interests of our dearest country to the 
protection of Almighty God, and those who have the 
superintendence of them, to his holy keeping." 

" Having now finished the work assigned me, I retire 
from the great theatre of action, and, bidding an affection- 
ate farewell to this august body, under whose orders I 
have so long acted, I here offer my commission, and take 
my leave of all the employments of public life." 

The President of Congress, General Mifflin, who, in 
the darkest hour of the revolution, had favored the Con- 
way Cabal, repUed : " Sir, the United States, in congress 
assembled, receive with emotions too affecting for utter- 
ance, the solemn resignation of the authorities under which 
you have led their troops with success through a perilous 
and doubtful war. We join with you in commending the 
interests of our dearest country to the protection of Al- 
miglity God ; and for you, we address to Him our earnest 
prayers, that a life so beloved may be fostered with all 
His care ; that your days may be as happy as they have 
been illustrious ; and that he will finally give you that 
reward which this world cannot give." Washington 
hastened to Mount Vernon, which he had not visited for 
eight years, except for a few hours while on his way against 
Cornwallis. 

Independence was at last attained, but at immense 1784. 
sacrifices. The calamities of war were visible in the ruins 
of burned towns, in the ravaged countiy, in the prostration 
of industry, and in the accumulation of debts. These 
amounted to one hundred and seventy millions of dollars — 
a sum enormous in proportion to the resources of the 
country — two-thirds of this debt had been contracted by 
Congress, and the remainder by the individual States. 



518 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



mvni These were evils, but there were still greater whicli 

came home to the domestic hearth. Frequently the mem- 

1784. bers of families had taken different sides, some were Whigs 
and some were Tories ; and that remorseless rancor which 
so often prevails in times of civil discord, extended through- 
out the land. It is pleasant to record, that in the course 
of a few years, a forgiving spirit among the people led to 
the repeal of the severe laws enacted against the Tories, 
and very great numbers of them repented of their mis- 
guided loyalty and returned to their native land. 

On the conclusion of peace the English merchants, 
alive to their interests, flooded the States with manufac- 
tured goods at very reduced prices. This operation ruined 
the domestic manufactures, which the non-importation 
association, and necessities of the war had created and 
cherished, drained the country of its specie, and involved 
the merchants and people in debt. Tliis jjoverty was fol- 
lowed by discontent, which prevailed more or less, and 
excited disturbances in several of the States. 

1786. In Massachusetts a thousand men assembled at Wor- 
Dec. 

25.' cester, under the leadership) of Daniel Shays, and forced 

the Supreme Court to adjourn, to prevent its issuing writs 
for the collection of debts. 

Governor Bowdoin called out the militia, which was 
put under the command of General Lincoln, who in a few 

1787. ''^c^^^s suppressed the outbreak. It was evident, however, 
Jan. that there was among the people a strong feeling of sym- 
pathy witb the insurgents, for the vast majority of them- 
selves labored under similar grievances. 

This distress was overruled for good. It was the 
means of bringing all the States to view witb favor a union 
under the same constitution, and thus form a government 
which should have power to act for the good of the whole 
country. 

The States made trial of independent governments, 



CLASHING INTERESTS — RIVAL PORTS. 519 

but after au experiment of three or four years the result ^^^J^j 

proved unsatisfactory. This was especially the case in re- 

lation to the subjects of legislation which concerned the 1787. 
whole country ; such as the regulation of commerce, the 
common defence, the adjustment of controversies between 
one State and another, and making of treaties with other 
nations. 

These difficulties were increasing — many interests 
clashed. Some of the States passed laws which con- 
flicted with those of their sisters ; since the close of the 
war, commerce had increased very rapidly, but American 
merchants were stiU excluded by the British from the 
West India trade. They complained to Congress, but 
the States had not yet conceded authority to that body, 
to regulate commerce or to legislate for the whole country. 

Some States had good harbors, and imported merchan- 
dise upon which duties were imposed at the expense of 
their neighbors ; and ports competed with each other by 
lowering the rate of imports. Thus there were rival ports 
on the Delaware ; and Maryland and Virginia competed 
with each other for the trade of the Chesapeake, while 
New Jersey and Connecticut were laid under contribution 
by their neighbors of New York and Massachusetts. No 
State could protect itself by retaliation against the restric- 
tions of foreign countries, as the attempt would throw its 
own trade into the hands of a sister rival. 

Efforts were made to obviate these evUs, and those 
States bordering on the waters of the Chesapeake and 
Potomac sent delegates to a convention held at Alexan- 
dria, to establish a uniform tariff of duties on the mer- 
chandise brought into their ports. This led to corre- 
spondence between the prominent men of the country and 
the legislatures. Another convention was held at An- 
napolis, to which there were rejjresentatives from only five 
States ; finally, the people elected delegates to meet in 



520 HISTOKY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



CHAP Convention in Philadeljjliia, to revise the Articles of Con- 

federation. 

1787. On the 14th of May, the memhers of the Convention 

met in the State House, in Philadel^jhia, in the same hall 
where the Declaration of Independence was made. Wash- 
ington, who, since the war, had lived in retirement at 
Mount Vernon, appeared as a delegate. He was imani- 
mously chosen President of the Convention. 

The Convention resolved to sit with closed doors ; not 
even a transcript of their minutes was i^ermitted to be 
made public. The articles of the old confederation, found 
to be very defective, were thrown aside, and the Conven- 
tion addressed itself to framing an indej^endent con- 
stitution. 

There were present about fifty delegates, representa- 
tives from eleven different States, all of whom had the 
confidence of their fellow-citizens, and were distinguished 
for their intellectual and moral worth and experience in 
public affairs. Some had been members of the Stamp 
Act Congress in 1765, some of the Continental Congress 
in 1774, and some were also among the signers of the 
Declaration of Independence. Conspicuous was the 
venerable Dr. Franklin, now in his eightieth year, who, 
thirty years before, at a convention at Albany, had pro- 
posed a plan of union for the colonies. 

The various disturbances in different parts of the land 
had shaken the faith of many in the power of the mul- 
titude to govern themselves. Said Elbridge Gerry, in the 
Convention : " All the evils we experience flow from an 
excess of democracy. The people do not want virtue, but 
are under the dupes of pretended patriots ; they are daily 
misled into the most baleful measures of opinions." 

It was necessary to have a central government, which 
could give security to all the States, and at the same time 
not conflict in its powers with their rights. 

It was found very difficult to arrange satisfactorily the 



THE CONSTITUTION COMPLETED. 521 

representation in the two branches of the proposed govern- i^'^jj 

ment. The smaller States were alarmed, lest their rights . " 

would be infringed vipon by the overwhelming majoritj- of 178T. 
members coming from the larger ones. This difficulty 
was removed by constituting the Senate, in which the 
States were represented equally without reference to their 
population ; each being entitled to two members, while in 
the House of Representatives the States were to be repre- 
sented in proportion to their population. 

After four months of labor, during which every article 
was thoroughly discussed, the Constitution was finished 
and signed by all the members present, with the exception 
of three ; Gerry, of Massachusetts, George Mason and 
Edmund Eandolph, of Virginia. This result was not ob- 
tained without much discussion ; at one time, so adverse 
were opinions that it was apprehended the Convention 
would dissolve, leaving its work unfinished. It was then 
that Franldin proposed they should choose a chaplain to 
open their sessions by prayer. Said he : "I have lived a 
long time ; and the longer I live the more convincing 
proofs I see of this truth, that God governs the affairs of 
men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without 
his notice, is it possible that an empire can rise without 
his aid .? " 

The Convention presented the Constitution thus 
framed to Congress, and that body submitted it to the 
people of the States for their approval or rejection. 

It was a document of compromises ; probably not a 
member of the Convention was perfectly satisfied with it. 
There were three prominent compromises ; the first, the 
equal representation in the Senate, a concession to the 
smaller States ; the second, that in the enumeration of 
the inhabitants three-fifths of the slaves were to be in- 
cluded in determining the ratio of representation in the 
lower house of Congress ; a concession to the slaveholders ; 



522 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP and the third, permission, till 1808, to the States of 

A A J^ y 1 1 1 ^_^ 

, Georgia and South Carolina, to receive slaves imported 

1787. from Africa, as the delegates from those two States re- 
fused to sign the Constitution except on that condition. 
The great desire to secure the moral power of a unanimous 
vote of the memhers of the Convention in favor of their 
own work, alone obtained this concession. 

In less than a year after the Constitution was submitted 
to the people, it was adopted by all the States, except 
North CaroUna and Khode Island, and by them in less 
than two years. 

This ratification of the Constitution was not brought 
about without a struggle. The subject was discussed in 
conventions and in the legislatures, and in the newspapers. 
The States were for a time unwilling to resign any of their 
sovereignty to a Federal or Central go\ernment. 

Many elaborate essays, collectively known as the 
Federalist, were written by Alexander Hamilton, Jay, 
and Madison, in favor of its adoption. These essays had 
an immense influence upon the leading minds of the 
country ; and these in turn greatly influenced the popular 
will. 

It shows the practical wisdom of those who framed the 
Constitution, that in the appHcation of its jirinciples for 
almost three quarters of a century, it has been fmiud 
necessary to change or modify only very few of its ar- 
ticles. 

While the Convention which framed the Constitution 
was in session in Philadelphia, the Continental Congress in 
July New York passed a bill " for the government of the Terri- 
tory north-west of the Ohio." T hat region had been ceded to 
the United States by the States of Massachusetts, Connec- 
ticut, New York and Virginia. In this bill were introduced 
provisions securing the exercise of religious freedom, and 
for the encouragement of schools, and also the proviso that 
" there shall be neither slavery, nor involuntary seiTitude 



ECCLESIASTICAL OKGANIZATIONS. " 523 



in said territoiy, otherwise than in punishment for crime." ^s^. 

AAA V Al i 

The region south of the Ohio was to be afterward regu- 

lated. Three years before Thomas Jefferson had intro- 1784. 
duced a bill, and urged its passage with all his influence, 
to exclude slavery not only from the territory then held 
by the United States, but from all which should thereafter 
be ceded to Congress by the respective States. This bid 
failed by only a few votes. 

The people, though thus engaged in moulding their 
political institutions, did not neglect to conform their sys- 
tems of ecclesiastical government to the new order of 
things. The Eevolution had changed the relation of the 
rehgious denominations to the State. In New England. 
Congregationalism was the established religion, and every 
citizen was required to aid in the support of some church. 
In all the southern colonies the Episcopal Church was 
equally favored, and partially so in New York and New 
Jersey. Only in Pennsylvania, Ehode Island, and Dela- 
ware, were all the Protestant sects on an equality, as to 
their religious rights. 

The Episcopal Church was more disorganized than any 
other. It had hitherto been attached to the diocese of 
the Bishop of London, but now that authority was not 
recognized. 

As yet there was no American bishop, and no means 
to obtain the consecration of any clergyman to that office, 
except by English bishops. Accordingly the Keverend 
Samuel Seabury, of Connecticut, at the request of the 
Episcopalians of that State, visited England to obtain or- 
dination as a bishop. But the English bishops were pre- 
vented by law of Parliament from raising any one to that 
dignity, who did not take the oaths of allegiance, and ac- 
knowledge the King as head of the Church. Seabury then 
applied to the non-juring bishops of the Episcopal Church 
of Scotland, by whom he was ordained. Some Episco- 



524 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES, 

CHAP, palians, however, were not satisfied witii an ordination at 



the hands of the Scottish bishops. 



1787. 



A convention of delegates, from several States, met 
and formed a constitution for the " Protestant Episcopal 
Church in the United States of America." After some 
revision this constitution was ado^ited by conventions in 
the separate States. Titles were changed in order to con- 
form to republicanism ; such as " Lord Bishop," and aU 
such as were " descriptive of temporal jiower and prece- 
dency." The Liturgy for the same reason was modified. 
A friendly letter was addressed to the English bishops, re- 
questing at their hands ordination of American bishops. 
An Act of Parliament gave the desired authority, and 
William White, of Philadelphia, Samuel Provost, of New 
York, and James Madison, of Virginia, were thus ordained. 
Soon after these ordinations, a General Convention ratified 
the constitution, and the organization of the E^jiscopal 
Church in the United States was complete. 

About this time came Thomas Coke, as superintend- 
ent or bishop in the Methodist Episcopal Church. He 
had been an able laborer with Wesley, by whom he was 
ordained to that office. This sect sjiread very rapidly, 
especially in the south ; in that section of the country 
were a great many vacant piarishes, which belonged to 
the Episcopal Church, numbers of whose clergymen left 
the country during the troubles of the Revolution. At 
this time the denomination did not number more than 
ninety preachers, and fifteen thousand members. 

The institutions of the Congregational and Presby- 
terian Churches required no change to adapt them to the 
new order of things. 

The Presbyterians took measures to organize their 

1788. Church government on a national basis. Four Synods 

were formed out of the Synod of New York and Pliiladel- 

phia. A General Assembly, composed of delegates from 



THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. 525 

all the Presbyteries of tke land, was authorized to meet j3cxvni 
annually. 

Soon after the treaty of peace with England, the 1788. 
Pope's Nuncio at Paris made overtures to Congress, 
through Doctor Franklin, on the subject of appointing a 
Vicar Apostolic or bishop for the United States. On the 
ground that the subject was purely spiritual, and there- 
fore beyond its jurisdiction, Congress refused to take any 
part in the matter. The Pope then appointed as his vicar 
apostolic, John CarroU, a brother of Charles Carroll, of 
CarroUton ; the same was afterward raised to the dignity 
of Archbishop of the Catholic Church in the United 
States. 

Almost immediately after the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence the Presbytery of Hanover, in Virginia, address- 
ed a memorial to the House of Assembly, in which they 
petitioned for the separation of church and state. They 177C. 
preferred that the gospel should be supported by the free 
gifts of its friends ; they asked no aid from the civil 
power to maintain their own chixrches, and were unwilling 
that any denomination should thus be favored. The 
movement thus commenced was ardently seconded by the 
Baptists and Quakers, who petitioned the Assembly to 
the same effect. These petitions were met by counter- 
memorials from the Episcopalians and Methodists, who 
urged in behalf of the Establishment, that it was a system 
which " possessed the nature of a vested right, and ought 
to be maintained inviolate." 

The separation of church and state soon became a 
prominent question in Virginia. Jeiferson took an im- 
portant part in the animated contest, but the most effective 
was the united influence of those who first opposed the 
establishment, and who never relaxed their efforts till the 
churches were declared independent of the civil j30wer, and 
every colonial law interfering with the religious rights of 
the people was swept away. 



526 HISTORT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

vvvvTi^ '^^^ example thus set by Virginia was not without its 

A X ^ V I I I . 

influence ; the union of church and state was dissolved 

1788. in the other States soon after the close of the Revolution, 
except in Connecticut and Massachusetts, where the sys- 
tem was retained many years longer.' 

' Hildreth, Vol. III. Dr. Hawks' Contributions to Ecclesiastical History 
of the U. S. Dr. Baird's Religion in America. 



CHAPTEE XXXIX. 

WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION. 

The Eeceptiou and Inauguration of the President. — An Era in human pro- 
gress. — The Departments of State organized. — Hamilton's Financial 
Report. — Congress Assumes the Debts of the Nation. — Tlie National 
Banlc. — Commercial Enterprise. — Manufactures. — Indian War. — Har- 
mer's Repulse. — St. Clair defeated. — Wayne defeats the Indians. — Po- 
litical Parties. — Jefferson. — The French Revolution. — Genet arrives as 
French Minister. — War between France and England. — Neutrality pro- 
claimed by the President. — Partisans of France. — Arrogant proceed- 
ings of Genet. — The Whiskey Insurrection. — Special Mission to Great 
Britain. — A Treaty concluded. — Its Ratification. — Other Treaties. — 
Washington's Farewell Address. — The Policy of the Government 
established. 

Whkn two-thirds of the States had adopted the Fed- chap. 

eral Constitution, it became the law of the land. The 

Continental Congress — that body so remarkable in its 1789. 
origin, in what it had accompHshed, and now about to 
pass out of existence — ordaiued that the new government 
should go into operation on the 4th of March, and also 
designated the city of New York as the place where the 
National Congress should hold its sessions. The same au- 
thority also named the time for electing the President and 
Vice-President, according to the manner prescribed in the 
Constitution. 

The hearts of the American people were turned to 
one man. George Washington was unanimously chosen 
the first President of the Kepubhc. John Adams received 
the nest highest number of votes, and was elected Vice- 



528 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. President. Charles Thompson, the old Secretary of Con- 

. gress, was sent to Mount Vernon to inform Washington 

1789. of his election, and another messenger to Boston, to inform 
Adams of his. The latter had just returned from a resi- 
dence of nine years in Europe, where he had been engaged 
in public business ; he immediately set out to enter upon 
the duties of his office. As a mark of respect, he was 
escorted by a troop of horse through Massachusetts and 
Connecticut, and was met at the New York State line, 
and in a similar manner attended to the city. 

Washington wished to travel to New York in as 
private a manner as possible. But enthusiasm and re- 
spect, drew the people in crowds to see and honor him. 
The authorities of the States through which he passed, 
vied with each other in testifying their regard. The most 
graceful recejition, and no doubt to him the most grateful, 
was the one he received at Trenton. As he came to the 
bridge, over which, twelve years before, on the eve of the 
battle of Princeton, he retreated with his weary and dis- 
heartened soldiers, he found it spanned by a triumphal 
arch bearing the inscription : " The Defender of the 
Mothers will be the Protector of the Daughters." Here 
were assembled a company of matrons and young girls, 
dressed in white, with baskets of flowers in their hands. 
As he approached they began to sing an appropriate ode, 
written for the occasion. At the close of the line, " strew 
your hero's way with flowers," they suited the action to 
the sentiment by strewing the flowers before him. At 
Elizabethport he was met by a committee of both Houses 
of Congress, and the heads of departments, and received 
on board a barge, magnificently decorated, and manned 
by thirteen pilots in appropriate uniforms. The barge 
was accompanied by a numerous cortege of boats filled 
with citizens. Welcomed to the city, amidst the salutes 
of artillery from the ships in the harbor, American as well 
as foreign, and from the battery, he was conducted to 



INAUGURATION OF WASHINGTON. 529 

the house prepared for his reception, by Governor George ^^■ 

Clinton, the State oflScers, and a uumerovis concourse of 

people. ^'^^- 

On the morning of the 30th of April, at 9 o'clock, the 
churches were opened for religious services and prayer. A 
httle after the hour of noon, on the balcony of the Federal 
Hall, on the site of the present Custom House, in the 
presence of a vast concourse of people in the streets, the 
oath of office was administered to the President elect, by April. 
Kobert K. Livingston, Chancellor of New York. At the 
close of the ceremony the Chancellor exclaimed : " Long 
live George Washington, President of the United States ! " 
The assembled multitude responded to the sentiment. 

The members of both Houses returned to the Senate 
chamber, where the President delivered an inaugural ad- 
dress, replete with wisdom and with sentiments designed 
to harmonize the discordant opinions which prevailed, and 
with renewed expressions of gratitude to Heaven for the 
favor granted the people of America, in all their struggles. 
Then he closed by announcing that he woiild receive no 
remuneration for his services, only asking that his ex- 
penses might be paid. The members of Congress, ac- 
companied by the President, then went in procession to 
St. Paul's church, where, led by Bishop Provost, the 
Chaplain of the Senate, they implored the blessing of the 
King of nations upon the government just inaugurated. 

The youthful nation was about to assume the powers 
of self-government, under circumstances never before wit- 
nessed in the history of man ; to throw otf the useless 
in forms and systems, retain what was valuable, and com- 
mence a new era in human progress. The pcojjle them- 
selves established their own government ; its Constitution 
was framed to secure their own welfare, and not to make 
the State great at their expense. They had learned this 
of their fathers. In Enghsh history all the great advances 
in securing the enjoyment of human rights, from the day 
34 



530 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

vvux "^"^ ^^licli Magna Chartta was given to the Declaration of 

Independence, had tended to protect the rights of the 

1789. subject — the individual man — and now this principle, un- 
trammelled by clogging forms, was to be carried out. The 
individual man was to be pre-eminent ; the State only his 
instrument, the mere machine of his own contriving, de- 
signed and moulded from time to time to protect his civil 
and religious privileges. In the great empires of the Old 
World, the empire was every tiling ; the people nothing. 
Now the people were to be every thing ; henceforth tliey were 
to be the fountain of power and influence. Ancient Greece 
and Rome had their civilization, their literature, their 
art, their liberty ; but they failed ; they had no elevating 
principle like Christianity to permeate and influence the 
people, penetrate their inmost life, and dignify the hum- 
blest by bringing into exercise the noblest attributes of 
their nature. A Christianized civilization ; the recog- 
nition of man's dearest rights ; an open field for individual 
enterprise ; attachment to institutions under whose ample 
shield protection was secured to all, were so many pledges 
of the ultimate success of a people thus governed. 

The new government had before it a diflScult task to 
arrange the various departments of State ; to obtain 
revenue, and pay ofi' the national debt. Three executive 
departments were created, the presiding officers of which 
were styled secretaries — the Treasury, War, including 
that of the Navy, and Foreign Affairs. These secretaries, 
the President, with the concurrence of the Senate, could 
appoint to oflice, or dismiss from the same. They were 
to constitute his cabinet or council ; and when requested 
by him, were bound to give in writing their oiiinious on 
the subject under discussion. A judiciary for the nation 
was estabhshed, under the title of the Supreme Court of 
the United States, having subordinate Circuit and District 
courts. Washington nominated Alexander Hamilton, 
Secretary of the Treasury ; General Knox, Secretary of 



THE FIRST SESSION OF THE FIRST CONGRESS. 531 

War ; Thomas Jefferson, Secretary for Foreign Affairs ; chap. 

John Jay, Chief Justice of the United States, and Edmund —1 '. 

Eandolph, Attorney-General. 1789. 

The first session of Congress, a laborious one of sis 
months, was spent in organizing the government. It 
shows the spirit of the times, that before they adjourned 
Congress passed a resolution, requesting the President to 
recommend a " day of public thanksgiving and prayer, in 
acknowledgment of the many signal favors of Almighty 
God, and especially his affording the people an oppor- 
tunity peaceably to establish a constitution of government 
for their safety and happiness." 

In January, the second session of the First Congress 1790. 
commenced. The President, instead of sending a written 
message, as is now the custom, made to both Houses, as- 
sembled in the Senate chamber, an address. He directed 
their attention to the public defence ; to the encourage- 
ment of agriculture, manufactures, commerce, and litera- 
ture ; to the enactment of naturalization laws, and espe- 
cially to the payment of the national debt. These various 
heads of business were referred to committees. During 
this session the' official intercourse between the heads of 
departments and the Houses of Congress took the form of 
written communications. 

Hamilton made his celebrated financial report, in which 
he recommended certain measures for obtaining revenue 
to defray the current expenses of the Government and pay 
off the national debt. This debt was in the form of cer- 
tificates or notes of obligation to pay for value received. 
During the war they had been issued by the States as 
well as by Congress, to persons who furnished supplies to 
the army, and for other services. Congress assumed these 
debts, and also the foreign debt. The expenses of two 
distinct governments — the Federal and that of the separate 
States — were to be borne. The revenue could be derived 
only from taxes on property. As the control of commerce 



532 HISTOEY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, had been transferred to Congress by the States, it was 

fitting that the revenue derived from the tax or duty levied 

1790. on imported merchandise should be appropriated to the 
support of the Federal Government, while that arising 
from real estate and other sources, shoidd be assigned to 
the use of the States. Hamilton proposed, and the gov- 
ernment adopted the system of indirect taxation by rais- 
ing revenue from the duties thus imposed ; and to meet a 
certain deficiency at the time, an excise, or tax on the 
manufacture of domestic spirits. 

Near the close of this session, Congress, after much dis- 
cussion, passed a bill to locate the seat of the General 
Government on the banks of the Potomac, and authorized 
the President to select the spot within certain limits, and 
to make arrangements for the erection of suitable build- 
ings. Until these should be ready for occupation, its ses- 
sions were to be held in Philadelphia, at which place, ac- 
P^c. cordingly, the second Congress began its first session. 

The President congratulated the members on the in- 
creasing prosperity of the country, and the unexjiected 
success in obtaining revenue. On the recommendation of 
Hamilton, Congress gave a charter for twenty years for a 
National Bank, with the privilege to establish branches in 
any of the States. The capital of the Bank was ten mil- 
lions, of which the government took two millions, and in- 
dividuals the remainder. The Bank was as beneficial to 
the government as it was to the commercial interests of 
the country. Its bills were payable in gold or silver when 
presented at its counters. This feature had a decided 
eifect ; it raised the credit of the General Government, 
and inspired confidence in the commercial world. The 
first census, just taken, showed the population of the States 
to be almost four millions. 

By assuming the debts contracted by the States in 
the defence of their common liberties. Congress had simply 
performed an act of justice ; provision was made to pay 



1792. 



COMMERCIAL ENTEHPRISE — DOMESTIC MANUFACTURES. 533 

the iiitoiedt, and also in time to liquidate the debts them- 9^^ 

selves. The duties imposed upon imports to raise revenue, 

had also a beneficial effect upon the struggling manufac- 1790. 
tures of the country. The mutual confidence between the 
States and the Federal Gfovernment, produced a like in- 
fluence upon the minds of the peojile ; their industiy was 
encouraged, and their commerce extended. American 
merchantmen were seen on almost every sea ; some sailed 
to the uorth-west coast of the continent, where, in ex- 
change for trinkets, they obtained furs ; these they barter- 
ed for cargoes in China, and these again they sold at home 
at an immense profit ; while others were as busily employ- 
ed in the trade to the East and West Indies, and to Eu- 
rope. About this time Captain Gray, of Boston, returned 
from a voyage around the world — the first ever made by 
an American. On his second voyage he discovered, and 
to a certain extent, explored the Columbia river. 

Though the Revolution broke the fetters with which 
English cupidity had bound the domestic manufactures 
of the colonies, still there were innumerable difficulties in 
the way. A coarse fabric, known as linsey-woolsey, and 
dyed in various colors, derived from the bark of trees in 
the forest, c&mprised almost entirely the extent of domes- 
tic cloths. At the town of Beverly, in Massachusetts, was 
established the first factory for making cotton cloth. " The 1788. 
patriotic adventurers" were not very successful in their 
enterprise, though they had macliines that could " card 
forty pounds of cotton in a day, and spin sixty threads at 
a time." Newburjioort has the honor of having the first 
factory for making woollen cloths, and two years later an ,^g, 
establishment for printing calico. These crude efforts 
were not very successful, but they were the harbingers of 
future triumphs. 

Sir Richard Arkwright improved upon a machine in- 
vented by a poor man named Highs, who called it a 
" Jenny," in honor of his daughter, and who, amid many 



534 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

C^^P- discouragements, and the jeers of his ignorant neighbors, 

contrived to ajjin a dozen threads of cotton at a time. 

1T94. He turned his machine by hand ; Arkwright arranged it 
to be driven by water-power. Samuel Slater, " the father 
of American manufactures," a native of Derbyshire, an 
apprentice of Arkwright's partner, made himself familiar, 
not merely with the use of the machine, but with the 
construction of the machines themselves. The British 
government did every thing in its power to retain the 
knowledge of the invention within the kingdom. Slater 
resolved to emigrate to America, and there introduce this 
art of spinning cotton. He landed at New York, but not 
meeting with encouragement, he went to Khode Island, 

1T90. and at Pawtucket put in operation sixty-two spindles on 
the Arkwright principle. Sixteen years later he was join- 
ed by his brother, John Slater, who brought with him the 
recent improvements in the art. 

In the valley of the Ohio, Indian troubles were on the 
increase. The British neglected to give up the Western 
posts according to the treaty, but retained them with their 
small garrisons. The Indians became restless, and oc- 
casionally made incursions against the frontier settlements, 
especially those in Kentucky. It was surmised that 

Oct. British emissaries had excited them to these outrages. 

The year previous they had repulsed General Harmer, 
who had been sent against them, and this success increas- 
ed their boldness. General St. Clair, now Governor of the 
North-west Territory, was appointed to the command of 
another expedition against them. In the mean time vol- 
unteers from Kentucky made desultory expeditions into 
the wilderness north of the Ohio. They attacked all the 
Indians they met, friendly or unfriendly, but the latter 
generally kept out of their way ; to burn empty wigwams, 
and destroy cornfields, only exasperated the savages more 

1791. and more. 



INDIAN WAR ST. CLAIR'S DEFEAT. 535 

It was the middle of September before St. Clair, witb §hap. 

an army of about two tlioiisand men, began his march 

from Fort Washington, the little stockade fort on the site 1791. 
of the present city of Cincinnati. It was his object to 
open a way, and establish a line of posts from the Ohio to 
the Maumee, and there build and garrison a strong fort, 
as a check upon the marauding Indians. Two of these 
posts he had already established. The militia who joined 
the army from Kentucky, were insubordinate, and, as the 
army could move but very slowly in cutting its way 
through the wilderness, they grew impatient, and finally 
numbers of them returned home. The Chickasaw warriors 
also deserted, and his force was reduced to fourteen hundred Nov. 
men. When he reached the head-waters of the Wabash, 
his army was surprised by Little Turtle, a celebrated 
Miami chief, and the Indians, who had hitherto contrived 
to keep out of sight. The militia fled immediately, and 
threw the regulars into confusion, who could not regain 
their order, nor sustain the attack. St. Clair was in his 
tent prostrated by illness and not able to mount his horse, 
and when Colonel Butler fell, the army commenced its 
retreat, or rather flight, abandoning every thing. For- 
tunately, i^lunder had more attractions for the savages 
than pursuit of the fugitives. The remnant of the army 
returned to Fort Washington, and the whole frontier was 
again defenceless. St. Clair resigned his command, and 
the President appointed General Wayne, whom we have 
seen so daring in the battles of the Eevolution, to lead 
the next expedition ; for the sake of connection the ac- 
count of this wiU be given here. 

An attempt was made to negotiate a peace, but with- 
out success ; in the mean while Wayne was at Fort 
Washington, earnestly engaged in recruiting and organ- 1794. 
izing his army. With his usual energy he pushed his 
forces rapidly forward to the scene of St. Clair's defeat, ju,,^.. 
and there built a fort which he named Kecovery. This 



536 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAR fort the Indians besieged for two days, but were at length 
driven off. Six weeks after he suddenly marched to the 

1794. Maumee. The Indians were taken by suri^rise. They 
took position amidst some fallen timber, prostrated by a 
hurricane, in order to avoid the cavalry, of which they had 
a great fear. Wayne ordered the infantry to charge with 

Aug. the bayonet through the timber. The Indians were im- 
■" ■ mediately routed, and scattered in all directions. The 
fertile valleys of the neighborhood were covered with 
cornfields ; these fields of grain were destroyed uj) to the 
very gates of the British fort, which Wayne could scarcely 
restrain his army from attacking. Thus, in a campaign 
of ninety days, he had marched three hundred miles, the 
greater part of the road cut by the army, had completely 
broken the Indian power, destroyed their provisions for 
the next winter, and established a full garrisoned fort in 

Nov. the midst of their country. He now returned to Green- 
ville, on the Miami, to winter-quarters. 

The following summer eleven hundred warriors, repre- 
sentatives from the western tribes, met Wayne at that 

-^"?- place and made a treaty which secured peace to the fron- 
tier. Their friends the British were about to evacuate the 
western posts, and they found it more to their advantage 
to submit. They ceded at this time nearly all the terri- 
tory of what is now the State of Ohio, for which they were 
paid. For twenty years the Indians had made incursions 
into Kentucky, and during that time they had carried 
oflF a great number of cajitives. By this treaty all these 
captives were to be restored to their friends. It was a 
moving spectacle to see parents endeavoring to find their 
children, who, years before, had been taken from their 
homes, some of them had forgotten their native language, 
some preferred to stay with their savage captors rather 
than return to civilized life. Many husbands and wives 
who had been separated for years, were restored to each 
other. 



CONFLICT OF OPINIONS JEFFERSON. 537 

The conflict of opinions, in regard to the adoption of ^n|j^ 

the Constitution, had created two parties ; the Federal- 

ist and the Anti-Federahst : the one, the administration 1792. 
and its friends ; the other, those opposed to its poHcy. As 
the Constitution became more and more popular, opposi- 
tion was specially made to Hamilton's management of the 
financial afi'airs of the government. Time has proved the 
wisdom of his policy, which has continued, in the main, 
to he that of the government from that day to this. 

" He was made Secretary of the Treasury ; and how 
he fulfilled the duties of such a place, at such a time, the 
whole country perceived with delight, and the whole world 
saw with admiration. He smote the rock of the national 
resources, and abundant streams of revenue gushed forth. 
He touched the dead corpse of the Public Credit, and it 
sprang upon its feet." ' 

In this opposition Jefferson, the Secretary of State, per- 
formed a secret but active part. Having been some years 
in France, as American Minister, he had returned home 
thoroughly imbued with French politics. He disliked 
Adams almost as much as he did Hamilton, and he seems 
to have been haunted with the idea that these two mem- 
bers of the cabinet were, in disguise, either monarchists or 
aristocrats ; that they were devising plans to change the 
republican form of the government ; and that Washing- 
ton was misled by them. He noticed and recorded every 
remark which seemed to him suspicious, made by these 
gentlemen, when in the hours of unreserved social inter- 
course. While ostensibly the friend of Washington and 
his administration, he was in communication with the op- 
position, and diffusing his ojjinions in his private corre- 
spondence. Measures, which at one time he himself had 
approved, he now feared might have lurking in them some 
latent principle which might lead to the establishment of 

' Daniel Webster. 



1789. 



538 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CUAR a monarcliy. His party thought it exjaedient to repudiate 

'. the name, Anti-Federalists, and assume that of Eepubli- 

1793. CAN, at tlie same time piroclaiming they were the only 
true friends of the people. An incessant warfare com- 
menced against the policy of the government, accompanied 
with scurrilous abuse of the President. 

The assumption of the State debts ; the national 
bank ; the manner of raising the revenue ; the funding 
system, by which jirovision was made to pay the interest 
on the national debt, were, in the eyes of the opposition, 
so many cunningly-devised plans to create friends among 
the rich, and in the end subvert the liberties of the country. 
The public interest demanded it, and after much so- 
licitation from the leading members of the government, 
Washington consented to serve for a second term. He 
was unanimously chosen. Adams was re-elected Vice- 
President ; he receiving seventy-seven electoral votes, and 
George Clinton, of New York, fifty. 



Two months and a half after the first inauguration of 
Washington as President, a bloody revolution broke out 
in France. The people of the United States looked with 
much interest upon the French people struggling for 
liberty. But it was soon evident that the state of the 
nation's morals, political as well as private, forbade the 
success of the French republic. The remembrance of the 
alliance with France, by which they had received aid in 
the time of need, elicited the sympathy of the American 
people. The republican party wished to form an alliance 
with the new Kepublic, while Washington, and the ma- 
jority of his cabinet, as well as the more judicious states- 
men, were in favor of neutrality. The unheard-of cruel- 
ties, which, in the name of liberty, had been practised in 
France for a year or two, had cooled the zeal of many. 
One party had succeeded by guillotining the leaders of its 
rival ; the amiable Louis, who had aided the Americans 



NEUTRALITY PROCLAIMED CITIZEN GENET. 539 

in their struggle for liberty, had been murdered by his ^^^,^ 
subjects ; and Lafayette was forced to flee. Strange that 



such " excesses and horrible butcheries " found apologists 1^93 



in the United States. 

While the public mind was thus divided, came Ed- 
mond Charles Genet or " Citizen Genet " as he was 
styled, as minister of the French Republic. He brought 
the intelligence that France had declared war against 
England. Now the opposition, urged on by their hatred 
to the latter power, wished to enter into an alliance with 
France, and thus involve the country in war. But Wash- 
ington and his cabinet, in spite of these clamors, promptly 
proclaimed neutrality as the policy of the United States, 
and also warned the jjeople not to commit acts inconsist- 
ent with the proclamation of neutrality, nor with the 
strictest impartiality towards the belligerents. The wis- 
dom of the Government saved the country from a mul- 
titude of evils. 

Genet took advantage of the sympathy manifested for 
France by a jjortion of the American jaeople, and began 
to fit out privateers against English commerce. This 
was an insult to the dignity of the government, and a 
violation of the proclaimed neutrality. But the parti- 
sans of France were determined tliat the country shoidd be 
committed to an alliance with the great sister Eepublic 
in the old world. 

About this time numerous societies, modelled after the 
famous Jacobin clubs in Paris, began to be formed in 
various parts of the Union. The more ultra assumed the 
title of Democratic, while others preferred to call them- 
selves Democratic Republican. They made strenuous 
efforts to influence the public mind in favor of French 
politics, and drive the government from its determination 
not to interfere in the quarrels of Europe. The President 
and his policy were assailed in terms of unmeasured abuse. 
The principal organ of this abuse was the Gazette news- 



April. 



540 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, paper, edited by Philip Freneau, who at this time was em- 

'. ployed by Jeiferson as translating clerk. 

1793. The Kepublican newspapers continued to accuse the 

President and his cabinet of being enemies of France, the 
only friend of the United States, and of being friends of 
England, the bitter enemy of American liberties. 

Genet mistook the clamors of a few for the sentiments 
of the majority of the peoj^le. He now had the audacity 
to authorize the French consuls in the ports of the United 
States to receive and sell prizes taken from the English, 
with whom we were at peace. He had also other projects 
in view, one to raise men in the Carolinas and Georgia and 
wrest Florida from Spain, another to raise men in Ken- 
tucky and make an attack on Louisiana. 

In his correspondence with the government he became 
more and more insolent, imputed improper motives to its 
members, tiU finally the President transmitted his letters 
to Gouverneur Morris, American minister at Paris, with 
directions to lay them before the Executive Council — and 
request his recall. 

When Genet received the information of this pro- 
cedure he was thunderstruck. He charged Jefferson with 
insincerity, as " having an official language and a lan- 
guage confidential." 

Though sympathizing with France in her struggles 
for liberty, but not in her atrocious excesses, the great 
majority of the people, when informed of the true state of 
the case, began to hold meetings and express theu- appro- 
bation of the measures adopted by the President, to 
prevent his country from being embroiled in European 
quarrels. 

In due time Morris presented the request that Genet 
should be recalled ; but another change had occurred in 
France. The management of affairs had passed into the 
hands of the Jacobins ; the Keign of Terror had com- 
menced. Genet was unceremoniously recalled, and Mr. 



1794. 



FIRST SETTLEUS OF WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA. 54J 

Faucliet aj^pointed in bis place. Genet did not return chap. 
home, but became a citizen of the United States. ! 

Through much toil and danger had the fertile valleys From 
of the Monongahela and its tributaries been settled. The 1708 
pioneers were principally Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, from to 
eastern Pennsylvania and Virginia. Their trials were as '^'^^^^ 
great as those of the early colonists. At first their 
families lived in blockhouses or forts, through fear of the 
Indians, while they, as they cleared the forest or tilled the 
soil, were always armed ; they even carried their rifles in 
their hands when on the Sabbath they assembled in the 
grove, or the rude log church, to hear the Gospel. The 
untrodden mountains lay between them and the settle- 
ments on the Atlantic slojje. Across these mountains the 
only road was a bridle-path ; the only conveyance a pack- 
horse. Iron and salt could only be obtained as these 
pack-horses carried them across the mountains. Salt was 
worth eight dollars a bushel ; and often twenty bushels 
of wheat were given in exchange for one of salt. Their 
fertile fields i^roduced an abundance of grain, especially 
wheat, from which they distUled the famed Monongahela 
whiskey, while their orchards were laden with apples and 
peaches from which they made brandies. To find a mar- 
ket for these, almost their only product, they must take 
a long and dangerous journey in flat-boats down the Ohio 
and the Mississippi to New Orleans, and thence by ship to 
the eastern markets. 

The tax levied upon the manufacture of domestio 
spirits was ojjposed by many. It was no doubt looked 
upon as unequal, as it was appropriated to the support of 
the Federal government, while the tax itself fell upon 
•only a small portion of the community. But nowhere 
was it so persistently resisted as by these settlers of the 
four western counties of Pennsylvania. They rose in open 
rebellion ; not only refused to pay the tax, but drove off 
the officers appointed to collect it. This opposition was 



1. 



542 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

2?^K; not confined to obscure persons, but some of the most in- 

'. fluential encouraged the multitude to resist the law ; but 

1794. their ministers, to a man, exerted all their influence in favor 
of obedience. The more violent leaders openly boasted 
they would not only resist the law, but separate from 
Pennsylvania, and form a new State. They professed to 
have very little regard for the Federal government, and 
took encouragement from the same party that sustained 
Genet. To discover those who sent information of their 
high-handed measures to the government, these rebels 
robbed the mail ; they scoffed at the jJi'oclamation of the 
Governor of the State and also at that of the President. 
Aug. Tlius matters continued for nearly two years. It shows 
the excitement which prevailed, that at one time with 
only three days' notice, there assembled on Braddock's 
Field nearly seven thousand armed meq. They had for 
their motto " Liberty and no excise." The assemblage 
passed many resolutions, indicating an intention to resort 
to further acts of violence. 

This meeting was presided over by Colonel Edward 
Cook, one of the judges of Fayette county, who had taken 
an active part in resisting the enforcement of the law. Its 
secretary was Albert Gallatin, from the same county, a 
native of Switzerland, who had been in the country but a 
few years ; a young man of superior education ; an ardent 
sympathizer with the French school of politics ; a violent 
opposer of the excise law. He had risen rapidly in popu- 
lar favor, had been a member of the Legislature of the 
State, and also of a Convention to amend its Constitution. 

Governor Miiflin wished to try the effect of a circular 
addressed to the insurgents, before calling out the militia. 
The circular was unheeded. The President issued a proc- 
lamation ordering the rebels to desist from their illegal 
proceedings ; at the same time he called out the militia, 
who resjjonded promptly to the call. 

The leaders soon found that, after all, the Federal 



THE WHISKKY INSURRECTION — MISSION TO ENGLAND. 543 

authority had the power and was determined to enforce char 

the law. The leaders became anxious to screen the people 

from the anger of the government, and themselves from 1794. 
the anger of the people. ■^°^' 

Only when the militia, which had crossed the moun- 
tains, in two divisions, formed a juncture at Union .Town, 
did the insurgents submit. A few arrests were made ; the 
most active leaders had fled the country. Thus ended 
" The Whiskey Insurrection." The vigor and energy dis- 
played by the Federal government in putting down the 
insurgents added strength to its authority. 

The belligerents in Europe, though professing friend- 
ship, had but little regard to the rights of Americans. 
While France was detaining their ships in her ports, Eng- 
land was issuing orders to her navy to seize and detain all 
vessels freighted with French goods, or laden with pro- 
visions for any French colony. These measures would ruin 
American commerce. Congress passed a resolution which 
forbid any trading vessel to leave an American port for 
sixty days. This was designed to annoy the British, by 
not furnishing provisions for their navy, — yet it operated 
just as much against the French, through whose par- 
ticular friends the bill was passed. 

A war with England was impending. To avert 
such a calamity, and to arrange the difficulties existing April, 
between the two countries, Washington resolved to send a 
special ambassador to the Court of St. James. 

To this important mission he nominated the patriotic 
and pure-minded Chief Justice Jay. Jay was of Huguenot 
descent ; as to his revolutionary services second only to 
the President himself ; of the highest reputation as a 
jurist ; his integrity, learning and disinterestedness had 
won him universal respect. In addition, there was a 
propriety in the selection that conciliated all minds, for 
he was one of the commissioners who had negotiated the 



544 HISTOKY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, first treaty with Great Britain. It would be a very diffi- 

. cult task to obtain all that the American people thought 

1791- they had a right to ask. There were many assumptions 
of power which England would be unwUling to yield. To 
negotiate under such circumstances required much skill 
and judgment. 

On his arrival in England, Jay was treated with great 
courtesy and respect, and a disj)osition was manifested to 
amicably arrange the difficulties which had arisen between 
the two countries. 

Both parties had their complaints to make. The one, 
that the Western posts had not been given up according 
to the treaty ; that their neutral rights were not resjaected ; 
that compensation had not been given for the slaves car- 
ried off at the close of the war ; that their merchants 
were excluded from the West India trade, and that 
British sailors, who by adoption had become Americans, 
were impressed and forcibly taken out of American ships. 

The other, that debts contracted with English mer- 
chants prior to the Eevolution could not be collected ; 
that the property of Tories had not been accounted for. A 
treaty was finally concluded, not such as Jay wished, nor 
as justice demanded, but the best that could be obtained 
under the circumstances. 

The Western posts were to be given up in two years ; 
the West India trade was granted on certain conditions, 
while free admission was given to British ports in Europe 
and in the East Indies, but no compensation could be ob- 
tained for the negroes. On the other hand, provision was 
made for the collection of the debts com2)lained of. 

A great clamor was raised against the treaty, which 
was grossly misrepresented. One party contended that 
its ratification would produce war with France, the other 
that its rejection would lead to a war with England. There 
were stormy debates on the subject in Congress, and in 
some of the State Legislatures. But when the difliculties 



DEPEEDATIONS ON COMMEKCE — ALGEEINE PIRATES. 545 

that stood in the way of obtaining more desirable con- chap. 

XXXIX 
ditions became known, and when the character of the '. '. 

treaty itself was understood, the more intelligent and con- 1V95. 

servative portion of the people, were in fiivor of accepting 

it. After a fortnight's debate in secret session the Senate 

advised its ratification, and thus was secured peace for 

some years ; under the circumstances, a very important 

gain. 

Treaties were also negotiated with Spain, in which the 
boundaries between the United States, Louisiana, and 
Florida were more definitely settled. The free navigation 
of the Mississippi was also secured to both parties, and 
the Americans were granted for three years the privilege 
of making New Orleans a place of deposit for their trade. 

American commerce, deriving its main resources in the 
New England States, had increased very rapidly; the 
trade to the Mediterranean was, however, much hindered by 
depredations committed upon it by Algerine pirates. 
Whether to purchase an exemption from these annoy- 
ances, as Europe had been in the habit of, or to send a fleet 
and punish the marauders, was a difficult question to 
answer. It was thought better, for the present, to re- 
deem the American sailors held as slaves by these bar- Sept. 
barians. On this occasion a bill was passed to build six ^' 
frigates ; this was the foundation of the Navy of the 
United States. The following year a treaty was made 
with the Dey of Algiers, and the captives released on the 
payment of a heavy ransom — nearly a million of dollars 
were paid for this purpose. This money expended in 
fitting out an armament, and thoroughly chastising the 
pirates, would have been better policy, — as was proved 
some years afterwards. 

Three more States — Vermont, Kentucky, and Ten- 1T96. 
nessee — were admitted into the Union during the adminis- 
tration. 

As Washington was unwilling to serve another term, 
35 



546 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, the two parties arrayed their forces for a trial of strens:th. 
XXXIX. I - o 
'. The Federahsts nominated John Adams for President and 

1796. the Kepublicans Thomas Jefferson. The parties were 
very nearly equally divided. Adams received two more 

1797. votes than Jefferson, and was declared to be elected 
President, and the latter Vice-President. 

Before retiring from public life Washington published 
a farewell address to the people of the United States. 
They responded to it with respect and affection ; the out- 
burst of a nation's gratitude. It was a truly paternal ad- 
dress, warning the nation against party strife and sectional 
jealousies, advising the policy of impartial neutrality 
toward other nations when at war with each other, and as 
a safeguard to liberty, the preservation of the Union and 
the Constitution. 

Thus ended the eight years of Washington's adminis- 
tration. When it commenced all was unsettled. Now 
the government was established. In that short time it 
had been severely tested. 

The general policy of his administration became the 
fixed pohcy of the government of the United States. The 
most enduring monument of his integrity and wisdom ; 
of his patriotic and Christian principles. Strange as it 
may seem, the annals of unscrupulous political warfare 
do not furnish a parallel to the scurrilous slanders that 
were heaped upon him, not only during his administration, 
but at its close. Such were the disreputable means used 
to induce the United States to become the ally of France, 
and to join in a -war against the hated England. 



CHAPTEK XL. 

JOHN ADAMS' ADMINISTRATION. 

Serious Aspect of Relations with Fiance. — Commissioners of Peace. — ^The 
Frencli Cruisers. — The Alien Act. — War impending. — Washington, 
Commander-in-Chief. — Capture of the Frigate L'Insurgente. — Peace 
concluded. — Death of Washington. — Eulogiums on his Character. — 
The cit}' of Washington becomes the Seat of Government. 

The policy of the new administration was like that of ^Sf^- 
the preceding, the cabinet officers of which were retained. 



The new President was not more influenced by love for 1797. 
England than by admiration for France. He had no ex- 
pectation that the latter country would establish a gov- 
ernment upon just and righteous princijjles. He expressed 
a " determination to maintain peace and inviolate faith 
with all nations, and neutrality and impartiality with the 
belligerent powers of Europe." 

In the mean time relations with France assumed a 
serious aspect. Nothing would satisfy that power but a 
willingness on the part of the United States to be used 
as a dependent. While the French partisans were clam- 
oring for such an alliance, the Directory exhibited their 
good will by issuing orders to seize and retain all Ameri- 
can vessels having on board English manufactured goods. 

Washington had recalled Monroe from the French 
Mission, and in his place sent Charles C. Pinckney. The 
latter sent his credentials to the Minister of Foreign 
Aifairs, but a few days after Monroe was notified that a 



548 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, minister would not be received from the United States 

, until grievances were redressed ; but Monroe himself was 

1797. complimented for his devotion to the French cause ; un- 
der the circumstances, a compliment somewhat equivocal. 

Pinckney was treated with studied neglect, bordering 
on insult ; finally he demanded his passports and depart- 
ed for Holland. During this time French privateers and 
cruisers were capturing American merchantmen and treat- 
ing their crews as prisoners of war. Some of the priva- 
teers were commanded by renegade Americans, who 
gloried in sailing under the colors of the " Great Republic." 

France also stimulated Holland and Spain to complain 
of the partiality of Jay's treaty with Great Britain ; and 
was also suspected of an intention to rob Spain of Louisi- 
ana and Florida. With overpowering successes, and un- 
scrupulous political morals, she was making rapid strides 
toward becoming the great power of the world. 

Still more alarming was the fact that there existed in 
the United States a large party that opposed the neutral 
policy of the government, and openly favored an alliance 
with the " Terrible Republic." 
May. The President called a special session of Congress, and 

laid before it a statement of the relations with France. 
When it became known that in their representative the 
United States had been deliberately insulted ; and that 
French aggressions on American commerce were increas- 
ing, the enthusiasm of the partisans of France somewhat 
declined. 

Two special commissioners were appointed to proceed 
to Paris, and, if joossible, adjust the existing difficulties. 
John Marshall and Elbridge Gerry were selected for this 
mission. The former, who was a Federalist, became after- 
ward Chief Justice of the United States ; the latter, a 
Republican in sentiment, one of the signers of the 
Declaration of Independence, became afterward Vice- 
President. They were authorized to conclude a treaty ; 



Oct. 



TALLEYRAND AND THE AMERICAN ENVOYS. 549 

one that should not conflict with treaties existing with *^|^P- 

other nations ; and to insist upon the right of the United 

States to remain neutral. 1T98. 

The envoys joined Pinckney in Paris, and imme- 
diately made known to the Minister of Foreign Affairs 
the object of their mission. This mmistcr was no less a 
personage than the celebrated Talleyrand, who some years 
before had been an exile in the United States, where, 
not receiving the attention which he thought he deserved, 
had returned home in no very complacent humor. At 
first he refused an audience to the commissioners, but 
soon after sent irresponsible jiersons to make them propo- 
sitions, which, if found convenient, he could easily disa- 
vow. Thus for several months they were the victims of 
diplomatic trickery. 

Meanwhile French cruisers captured American vessels, 
and French courts confiscated their cargoes, and imprison- 
ed their crews. Finally the commissioners were given to 
understand, if they would advance a little money for the 
special benefit of Talleyrand and his worthy friends, and 
also pledge the United States to make France a loan, that 
negotiations would be commenced in earnest. This 
proposition was indignantly refused. Marshall and Pinck- 
ney were immediately ordered to leave the country, and 
Grerry, whose party at home sym2)athized with France, 
was invited to remain and negotiate a treaty. It was by 
such insults and injuries, that France hoped to intimi- 
date the United States, and make them as dependent on 
her boasted magnanimity, as she had already made Spain. 
The disrespect offered the commissioners excited great in- 
dignation in the minds of the American people. Strange 
as it may seem, the opposition insisted that France was 
not to blame, but their own government, in faithfully en- 
forcing its policy of neutrality. At length the corre- 
spondence between Talleyrand's agents and the commis- 
sioners was published. The French party offered no more 



550 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, apologies. The spirit of the insulted people was aroused. 
The reply of Pinekney to the corrupt emissaries of Tal- 



1798. leyrand — "Millions for defence, not one cent for tribute/' 
was echoed throughout the land. Addresses to the Presi- 
dent, approving his measures, began to pour in from all 
parts of the nation. The French party soon dwindled to 
a small minority. The only hope Jefferson cherished was 
that Congress would adjourn. "To separate Congress 
now," wrote he, " wiU be withdrawing the fire from a boiling 
pot." 

A large number of French exiles — it was thought 
nearly thirty thousand — were, at this time, in the country. 
Some of these acted as spies, at least so thought the gov- 
ernment ; some had tampered with the peojole of Ken- 
tucky to induce them to join in an expedition against 
Louisiana, then belonging to Spain, and some jjlanned a 
similar expedition against Florida. Thus did they abuse 
the hospitality tendered them by endeavoring to create 
divisions among the people, and opposition to the policy 
of the government. 

Under these circumstances Congress passed what was 
termed the " Alien Act," to continue in force two years, 

July, by which the President was authorized to order out of the 
country aliens, who, by their plots might endanger the 
interests of the government in case of war. The law was 
never enforced, but nevertheless a large number of these 
exiles left the country. 

Presently Marshall returned, and confinned all that 
had been reported of the demands of the French Eepub- 
lic. The President sent in a message to Congress, which 
contained a statement of the embarrassing relations exist- 
ing between the two countries. Preparations were made 
for war. It was resolved to raise and equip an army ; to 
fortify important jiosts on the sea-coast ; to jsrepare a 
naval armament, and to capture French armed vessels, 
but not to molest merchantmen. 



I 



I 



COMMISSIONERS OF PEACE — THE TREATY. 551 

The people came forward with alacrity to assist. *^^^P- 

Money was subscribed liberally, esjiecially iu the seaboard 

towns, to equip a navy. The frigates so bug building 1798. 
were just finished ; and the Constitution, the United 
States, and the Constellation, the germ of our present navy, 
were fitted for sea. 

Washington was nominated as Lieutenant-General 
and Commander-in-Chief of the army — a nomination 
unanimously confirmed by the Senate. He heartily ap- 
proved the measures of the President, and condemned 
those of France, saying that the administration ought to 
inspire universal satisfaction, and added, " we can with pure 
hearts appeal to Heaven for the justice of our cause, and 
may tmst the final result to that kind Providence which 
has hitherto and so often signally favored the people of 
the United States." 

When it was seen that the United States would not 
submit to insult, but were preparing to repel it by force, 
the Dhectory made overtures for peace. This intimation 
came from Murray, the American Minister at Holland, to 
whom Talleyrand had cosimunicated the proposition. 
The President accordingly nominated two commissioners, 
Oliver Ellsworth and W. E. Davie, who were to join Mur- 
ray in Paris. 

President Adams took the ground that they should 
not enter France, unless assurance was given that they 
would be received in a " manner befitting the Commission- 
ers of an independent nation." 

On their arrival in France they found Bonaparte at 
the head of affairs, and the cunning and politic Talley- 
rand still in office. Negotiations commenced, and in due 
time a treaty was concluded, which in its provisions ad- 
justed nearly all the matters of dispute. Sept. 

The fleet which had been fitted out to protect Ameii- 
can commerce from French depredations had not been 
idle. More than three hundred private vessels had been 



552 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, licensed to cany arms and to defend themselves from the 

common enemy. But the incident which gave the great- 

1799. est satisfaction to the country was the capture of the 
French frigate L'Insurgente, by the Constellation, imder 
Feb. Captain Truxton. The two vessels were about equal in 
their complement of men and guns. After a severe con- 
test of an hour and a quarter, the L'Insurgente strack 
her colors, having lost in men twenty to one of her an- 
tagonist. This was the first time that an American 
armed vessel had met one of another nation on equal 
terms. As a presage of future triumphs it was most 
grateful to the people. 

Ere long intelligence came of the conclusion of peace. 
The army was disbanded, but the defences along the coast 
were stiU maintained, and also it was resolved to keep the 
navy afloat. 

But before it was known in America that the Com- 
missioners of peace had been kindly received, an event oc- 
curred which cast a gloom over the nation, and for a season 
silenced the clamors of party spirit — the death of Wash- 
ington. In riding about his farm he was exposed to a 
cold rain. The following morning he complained of a sore 
throat, an inflammation of the windpipe followed, which 
speedily produced death. With calm resignation he ex- 

^f"- pressed his willingness to die. 
14. 

A joint committee of both Houses of Congress reported 

resolutions recommending to the people of the United 
States, out of respect for his memory, to wear badges of 
mourning for thirty days, and also that his approaching 
birth-day be celebrated " by suitable eulogies, orations, 
and discourses, or by public prayers." Thus did the 
people honor him " who was first in war, first in peace, 
and first in the hearts of his countrymen." 

The oration before both houses of Congress, was pro- 
nounced by Colonel Henry Lee, whom we have seen as 
the intimate though youthful friend of Washington. In 



DEATH OF WASHINGTON. 553 

accordance with the above recommendation, his birth-day chap. 

was celebrated throughout the land ; the most emment 

in the nation delighted to honor his memory. Nor was 1799. 
his name honored only in his native land. When the 
news reached Europe it eUcited emotions of sadness and 
tokens of respect. The great British fleet of sixty ships 
of the line, under the command of Lord Bridport, and at 
the time lying in the English channel, lowered their flags 
to half mast. In his orders of the day to the French 
army, Bonaparte, then First Consul of France, paid a 
tribute to his memory, and afterward caused a funeral 
oration to be delivered before the civil and military au- 
thorities, and the standards of the army to be draped in 
mourning for ten days. 

Such were the pubhc tokens of respect. But he had 
a higher honor — a place in the affections of the good and 
humane in jirivate life more than any man of any age ; 
he never received an office in the gift of the people, or at 
the hands of their representatives, that was not unani- 
mously given. To him alone has gone forth that heartfelt 
respect, that reverence and gratitude which can be embodied 
only in the endearing title, the Father of his country. 

Says an eminent British statesman and scholar, (Lord 
John Kussell,) " To George Washington nearly alone in 
modern times has it been given to accomplish a wonder- 
ful revolution, and yet to remain to all future times the 
theme of a people's gratitude, and an example of virtuous 
and beneficent power." " His intellectual, like his moral 
qualities, were never brought out to dis2}lay his own talent 
or enhance his own glory. They were forthcoming as oc- 
casion required, or the voice of the country called for 
them ; largeness of combination, quickness of decision, 
fortitude in adversity, sympathy with his officers, the 
burst of impetuous courage, were the natural emanations 
of this great and magnanimous soul." ' 

' Life and Times of James Fox, Vol. 1, pp. 366 and 254 



554 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. rjij^g administration of Adams, now drawing to its close, 
was in its policy like that of Washington. During these 

1799. twelve years, there was much opposition, but that policy 
in the main has remained unchanged from that day to 
this. To be free from the turmoU of European politics was 
wisdom, but to carry it out required the calm determina- 
tion of Washington, as well as the impulsive energy of 
Adams, " who was not the man to quail " when he thought 
duty called. 

During the summer the seat of the Federal Govern- 

1800. ment was removed to the City of Washington, then " a 
little village in the midst of the woods," in the District 
of Columbia. 

The struggle for political power was renewed with 
great vigor, and in the bitterness of party spirit. The 
Federahsts nominated Adams and Charles C. Pinckney for 
President, while the Eepublicans nominated for the same 
office, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. When the 
electors came to cast their votes it was found that Adams 
had sixty-five, Pinckney sixty-four, and Jefferson and 
Burr had each seventy-three. In accordance with the 
provisions of the Constitution, it became necessary for the 
House of Kepresentatives to make the choice. After 

1801. thirty-six ballotings, during seven days, Jefferson was 
17." chosen President, and Burr Vice-President. 



CHAPTER XLI. 

JEFFERSON'S ADMINISTRATION. 

The President's Inaugural. — Purchase of Louisiana. — The Pirates of the 
Mediterranean. — Captain Baiubridge. — The Burning of the Philadel- 
phia. — Tripoli Bombarded. — Death of Hamilton. — Aaron Burr. — Oppo- 
sitiou to the Navy. — Gunboats. — Right of Neutrals infringed upon. — 
The unjust Decrees issued by England and France. — American Mer- 
chants demand the Right to defend themselves. — Impressment of 
American Seamen. — Treaty with England rejected by the President. — 
Affair of the Chesapeake. — The Embargo ; its eflect. — Public feeUng on 
the subject. — Manufactures. —Embargo repealed. 

On entering npon office Jefferson found the country in a chap. 
prosperous condition. The revenue was abundant for ^^^" 
current expenses ; the stability of the government had in- jgQj 
spired the industrial interests with confidence, commerce 
had increased beyond aU precedent, and was pressing on 
to still higher triumphs. 

The prosiject of a general peace in Europe also gave as- 
surance that American ships would no longer be subjected 
to unlawful seizures under the pretense that they carried 
cargoes contraband of war. The census just taken had 
shown the popiilation to be, within a few hundreds, double 
what it was at the commencement of the revolution. The 
total population being 5,319,762. The number of mem- 
bers of the House of Representatives was 141. 

The new President professed to deprecate party spirit : 
and wished to be recognized as a " moderate republican," 
jDroclaiming as " brethren of the same principles, we are 



556 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, called by different names, we are all Kepublicans, we are 

all Federalists." But in a veiy sbort time he began to 

1802. remove those from office, who were not of his own political 
ojiinions. The bitterness of ]3arty spirit was not allayed 
by this policy. 

Immigrants had been pouring into the region North- 
west of the Ohio. In one year twenty thousand persons 
had passed into that territory to find homes. The people 
of the eastern portion, presented themselves at the door 
of Congress, asking permission to be admitted as a State. 
The request was granted, and the State of Ohio, with a 
population of seventy thousand, became a member of the 
April. Union. 

The Spanish Grovemor of Louisiana, in violation of an 
existing treaty — that of 1795 — refused permission to the 
traders on the Mississippi to deposit their produce at New 
Orleans. This act, so injurious to their commei-ce, caused 
a great commotion among the people beyond the moun- 
tains. The government was called uj)on to redress these 
grievances ; the Western people must have the privilege 
of freely navigating the Mississippi, or they would seize 
New Orleans, and drive the Spaniards from the territory. 
At this crisis intimations came from Paris that Spain, by 
a secret treat}-, had ceded Louisiana to France. Bona- 
parte's vision of restoring the French power on this con- 
tinent had become somewhat dim, especially as the over- 
powering fleet of Great Britain would seize and occupy 
the mouth of the Mississippi, whenever it was known to 
belong to France. To avoid this contingency, he was 
willing to sell the entire territory of Louisiana to the 
United States. Accordingly Robert E. Livingston, 
American Minister at. Paris, commenced negotiations, 
which resulted in the purchase of that region for fifteen 
1803 millions of dollars. The rights and privileges of Ameri- 
""so. can citizens were guaranteed to the inhabitants of the 
purchased territoiy. 



ALGERINE PIRATES BAINBRIDGE. 557 

When the sale was completed, Bonaparte is said to '^■^a''. 

have exclaimed : — " This accession of territory strengthens L 

forever the power of the United States ; — I have just 1803. 
given to England a maritime rival that will sooner or later 
humble her pride." 

In the midst of the turmoil of wars in Europe, the 
pirates of the Mediterranean had renewed their depreda- Sept. 
tions upon American commerce. Captain Bainbridge in 
command of the frigate George Washington was sent to 
Algiers with the usual tribute. The Dey ordered him to 
carry some presents and his ambassador to Constantinople. 
Bainbridge at first refused. The Dey was highly indignant, 
" You pay me tribute," said he, " by which you become 
my slaves, and therefore I have the right to order you as I 
think proper." However, as he was exposed to the guns 
of the castle and batteries, and learning that Eughsh, 
French, and Spanish ships of war had submitted to similar 
impositions, Bainbridge thought it more prudent to com- 
ply with the arrogant demand, hoping at some future time 
to avenge the indignity thus offered his country's flag. In 
closing his report to the Navy Department, he wrote, " I 

hope I will never again be sent to Algiers with tribute unless , „„„ 
^ ... 1803. 

I am authorized to deliver it from the mouth of our cannon." 

As these depredations continued, and, while the tribute 
became more and more onerous, a squadron, under Com- 
modore Preble, was sent to capture the pirates and block- 
ade the harbor of Tripoli. Tlie frigate Philadelphia, 
commanded by Bainbridge, when chasing an Algerine 
cruiser, ran upon a sunken rock near the shore. Wliile 
thus disabled, Tripolitan gun-boats captured her after a 
contest, which lasted an entire day. Bainbridge and his 
crew of three hundred men, were made prisoners, and 
treated as slaves, for whom an exorbitant ransom was de- 
manded. 

Finding means, however, to communicate with the 
American sc[uadron, he suggested the possibility of burn- 



558 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, ing the Pliiladeli^hia, as she lay moored under the guns 

of the castle. Lieutenant Decatur volunteered to act on 

1804. the suggestion. A small TripoHtan trader had been cap- 
tured a few days before. This vessel, now named the 
Intrepid, was selected for the enterprise. With a crew 
of seventy-six chosen men — all volunteers — Decatur sail- 
ed on his perilous imdertaking. Combustibles were pre- 
pared in bundles, and to each man was assigned his par- 
ticular duty. 
1804. Passing into the harbor, they approached the Phila- 

delphia about midnight. When hailed, the interpreter 
answered they were traders, who had lost their anchor in 
the late gale, and begged permission to make fast to the 
frigate till morning. The request was granted, and the 
Intrepid slipped alongside. Suddenly the Turks noticed 
that she had her anchors, and gave the alarm, shouting 
Feb. " Americanos." In a moment more, Decatur and his 
brave companions clambered up one side of the vessel, 
while the panic-stricken Turks, after slight resistance, as 
rapidly passed over the other into the water. The fag- 
gots were handed up, and carried to every part of the 
ship, and in thirty minutes she was on fire from stem to 
stern. So dry had the vessel and the rigging become in 
that warm climate, that with difficulty the Americans 
escaped the flames. When clear of the frigate cheers of 
triumph told that the daring attempt had been success- 
ful. The flames soon lighted up the harbor ; the castle 
opened with its guns upon the Intrepid, which, urged on 
by the rowers, was rapidly passing out of danger. Soon 
the guns of the burning frigate began to explode and 
throw their shot in aU directions. This was one of the 
boldest enterprises ever undertaken by our naval heroes. 

The squadron continued to blockade the harbor of 
Tripoli, and during the following summer bombarded the 
town. The contest was severe, and there was much hand- 
to-hand fighting on board gun-boats. Intelligence came 



HAMILTON — BURK. 559 

that otlier vessels were on their way, and a further attack ™^P- 

was postponed. Before the arrival of this reinforcement 

the Bashaw came to terms, and desired to make peace ; 1804. 
other causes aided in hastening this event. He had 
driven his elder hrother, Hamet, into exile, and usurped 
his throne. Captain William Eaton, American Consul 
at Tunis, concerted measures with the exiled brother to 
drive the usurper from Tripoli. With four hundred troops, 
only nine of whom were Americans, Eaton and Hamet 
marched a thousand miles across the Libyan desert, and 
suddenly appeared before Deme, which place, with the aid 
of the American fleet, they captured in a few days. The 
Bashaw sent troops against the invaders ; these troops 
were also defeated, then to save himself he made proposals 
to negotiate. Peace was concluded by Lear, the American 1805. 
consul at Tripoli, but not on as favorable terms as justice "^"i"® 
demanded. After an exchange of prisoners, man for man, 
there still remained two hundred Americans ; for these a 
heavy ransom was paid. Thus conceding the point in 
dispute, that the Bashaw had a right to receive ransoms 
for prisoners taken by his pirates. 

Jefferson was re-elected President, and, instead of 
Burr, George Clinton, of New York, Vice-President. 
Burr's intrigues had become known to both parties, and 
he experienced the just fate of the insincere — he was sus- ' 
pected by all, and trusted by none. Rejected by his own 
State, his political prospects ruined, and overwhelmed by 
debts, the result of unsuccessful speculations, his cold and 
unrelenting spirit panted for revenge. He looked upon 
the influence of Alexander Hamilton, as one cause of his 
political failure. To retrieve his political fortunes Burr 
was willing to risk his own hfe, if he could but kill the 
man whose patriotism and integrity ho well knew, and 
whose influence he dreaded. He laid his plans to force 
Hamilton into a duel. They met on. the banks of the 
Hudson, opposite New York, Hamilton previously de- i805. 



560 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, daring that to fight a duel was contrary to his judgment 
and his sense of moral duty ; that he wished Burr no ill, 

1804. and should make no effort to ijijure him. Burr took de- 
liberate aim, and Hamiltou was mortally wounded ; as he 
fell his own pistol went off accidentally. When the sur- 

July geon approached he said, " Doctor, this is a mortal 
^^- wound." In twenty-four hours he was no more. Thus 
fell one of the brightest intellects, and purest, self-sac- 
rificing patriots of the country — a victim to an unchristian 
custom, the relic of a barbarous age. His loss to the 
country was second only to that of Washington. 

The most imposing funeral ceremony the city ever 
saw revealed the depth of feeling in the public mind. 
Presently the correspondence between the parties was 
published ; this made known the designing manner in 
which Hamilton had been entrapped, and the disclosure 
produced in the public mind stUl greater indignation 
against Burr. The coroner's jury brought in a verdict of 
wilful murder against him. Fearful of violence he was 
fain to conceal himself for a few days in New York, and 
then to flee to Philadelphia, and finally to Georgia, untU, 
as he expressed it, " the storm would blow over." 

The sacrifice of a man so eminent, merely to ajipease 
the honor of a consummate villain, turned the minds of 
' the people more directly to the moral turjjitude, as well 
as the absurdity of the custom of duelling. Public opinion 
on this subject became, henceforth, embodied in laws, 
wliich banished the custom from some of the States, and 
will, it may be hoped, eventually banish it from aU the 
others. 

The remaining history of Aaron Burr may be told in 
a few words. His intriguing and restless nature impelled 

1805. -^^"^ ^^ other enterprises. The year following the death 
of Hamilton he went west. That section of the country 
contained many turbulent spirits, and had, moreover, 
manifested much dissatisfaction with the G-eneral Govern. 



THE MYSTERIOUS MOVEMENTS OF BURK — HIS DEATH. 561 

ment. It was thouglit Burr had some designs for his own ™^P- 

aggrandizement ; either to seize upon New Orleans and 

draw off the people of the valley of the Mississippi from 1805. 
their allegiance to the Union, or to make a foray into 
Mexico, overturn the existing government, and put him- 
self at the head of the one he should establish. His mys- 
terious movements from place to place, and the hints 
concerning his projects, which he threw out to those 
whom he wished to enlist, excited the suspicion of the 
federal government. After being permitted to plan and 
counter-plan for a year or more, he was finally arrested 
and brought to trial. But so cunningly had he managed 
the affair, that no decisive ^jroof could be obtained of his 
designs. After a prolonged trial, he was acquitted of the 

charge of treason against the United States. ^-S^J' 

° Feb. 

Though acquitted by the jury, public opinion treat- 
ed liim as guilty. Turned upon the world a penniless 
wanderer, suspected everywhere, even in foreign lands, 
whei-e he lived iu the greatest poverty, a pensioner upon 
the pittance doled out by a few friends. Ordered out of 
England as a French spy, and treated in France as a 
British emissary ; finally, he returned home, to find his 
family ties all broken, his daughter, an only and beloved 
child, having, under trying circumstances, recently perish- 
ed at sea. 

He made no advances to renew former friendships or 
acquaintance, and would gladly have shunned the public 
gaze, but he was compelled in his old age to resume the 
practice of the law as a means of support. With a ban 
resting upon him, he went down in loneliness to the 
grave, in his eighty-first year — a melancholy instance of isse. 
prostituted talents. 

The country continued to be very prosperous ; the 
public expences were lessened, and the finances were 
leaving every year an increasing surplus ; the belligerents 
36 



562 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

f'HAP. in Europe had not yet interfered muclx with American 
commerce, the great source of the federal revenue. The 



1805. facilities for making money exchanges aft'ordod hy the 
banks had a beneficial effect upon the internal trade of 
the country. The exportation of domestic produce had 
tripled in value since the adoption of the Constitution, 
amounting to forty-tAvo millions. There was also a rapidly- 
increasing, and immensely profitable trade in the import 
and export of foreign merchandise, exclusively for the 
supply of foreign nations. Internal improvements were 
not overlooked, and companies were formed for the con- 
struction of roads and bridges, and others for insurance. 

Washington and Adams, in their administrations, 
both endeavored to place the force of the country on a 
footing to command the respect of other nations. Hence 
they strongly urged the creation of a navy to protect 
American commerce, and the policy of fortifying impor- 
tant places along the coast. But Jefferson looked upon 
this as a useless expense. He would prefer to have the 
public ships hauled out of harm's way into harbors ; in- 
stead of prosecuting trade upon the ocean, where a cruiser 
of one of the belligerents might occasionally search a ves- 
sel for goods contraband of war, he would lay an embargo, 
and cut off all trade. Harbor fortifications were subjected 
to the same policy, falsely named economical ; gun-boats 
were to take the place of other defences. Even the frames 
of the six ships of the line, commenced by the previous 
administration, were cut up to make gun -boats. 

For more than six years not a single vessel was added 
to the navy, though there were indications that war might 
speedily occur. The hostility in Congress to that branch 
of the service was confined principally to the southern 
members. It was avowed that in case of war it would be 
good policy to abandon the harbors and sea-coast, and 
retire into the interior ; that it would be better to give 
up commerce altogether than protect it by a navy. 



ENGLISH AND FRENCH DECREES. 563 

The war between France and England had driven chap. 
from the ocean all the merchant vessels of those nations. L 



This trade passed into the hands of neutrals, the United 1S06. 
States securing much the largest share. 

The cruisers of the belligerent powers continued to in- 
fringe upon the rights of the neutrals. The battle of 
Trafalgar annihilated the fleets of Spain and France. 
The dread of French cruisers had passed away ; and the 
British merchants began to complain of the vast profits 
made by the Americans in the neutral trade, whose emol- 
uments they wished to secure to themselves. It was 
suspected that the vast amount of property carried by the 
Americans did not belong to them, but that it was taken 
to a neutral port merely to acquire a neutral character, 
and then transhipped to the ports belonging to those na- 
tions which were at war, — a charge no doubt true in many 
instances. On this ground American vessels were seized 
and condemned. 

The English government passed a decree which de- 
clared the coast of Europe from the mouth of the river Elbe 
to Brest, to be in a state of blockade ; — thus forbidding 
neutrals to trade withiu these prescribed limits. Napo- May. 
leon, unable to contend with England upon the ocean, 
now issued the famous Berlin decree, which declared the 
coast of Great Britain to be in a state of blockade. In 
addition, he prohibited all trade in EngHsh merchandise. '^"^^ 
Two mouths later, Great Britain forbade all trade with 
France whatever. Thus these two nations wantonly dis- 
regarded the interests and rights of the commerce of the 
world. Both French and British cruisers, now cajDtured 
American trading ships, and the commerce which extend- 
ed to every sea, gradually dwindled down to a coasting 
trade. Owing to the government's policy — fondly cher- 
ished as the very essence of economy — the commerce 
of the nation was left to the tender mercies of ocean 
despots ; there was no navy to give it protection, except 



564 HISTOET OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, a few redoubtable gun-boats, that lay in the harbors, 

patiently waiting for the audacious cruisers to come within 

1806. their range. 

The condemnation of vessels taken by foreign cruisers, 
and the forfeiture of their cargoes to the amount of mil- 
lions, caused an intense excitement among American mer 
chants. In all the seaport towns, especially, meetings were 
held to express the views of the people, and petitions ask- 
ing protection, poured into Congress. These petitions only 
produced a recommendation of the President to that body 
to build more gun-boats. Is it strange the policy, which 
neglected the mercantile interests of the country, should 
be contrasted with the profusion in which money was 
spent to purchase territory, and to hquidate Indian 
claims ? Said one party, it is folly to provide a navy, 
which, in case of war, will fall into the hands of the 
British. The hardy seamen answered, give us the men- 
of-war well armed, and we will see that they do not fall 
into the hands of the enemy. Will not the same energy 
and spirit, which has extended American commerce to 
the ends of the earth, defend its interests, and maintain 
the honor of the country ? In John Adams' adminis- 
tration, Congress brought to terms the French cruisers on 
American commerce ; it gave the merchants liberty to 
protect themselves, and they did it, — why not grant the 
same permission now ? 

To these complaints were added others equally as seri- 
ous. The British government maintained the doctrine that 
no subject could expatriate himself, or transfer his alle- 
giance to another country. The United States govern- 
ment maintained the reverse, and welcomed emigrants 
from other nations, and as adopted citizens afforded them 
protection. The commanders of British men-of-war were 
accustomed to board American merchant vessels, on the 
high seas, and search for deserters, as they termed those 



THE IMPRESSMENT COMMISSIONERS OF PEACE. 565 

English or Irish sailors, who had thus entered the Ameri- chap. 
can service. 



I 



In these impressments great numbers of native born 1806. 
Americans were forcibly seized and consigned to the slavery 
of a British man-of-war. These high-handed measures, 
executed in an arrogant manner by the English officers, 
produced throughout the land a feeling of bitter hostility 
to England. The English government gave as an apology 
for these impressments, that in her present struggle she 
needed all her seamen, and if permission were given, they 
nearly all would desert, and enter American ships. Eng- 
land herself was to blame for this want of patriotism in 
her seamen. The iron hand of unfeeling rule had driven 
these men from her service ; her cruel press-gangs had 
crushed out their love of home. They had been seized 
when uniDrotected and hurried on board men-of-war, where 
brutal severities had obliterated their nobler feelings. Thus 
wantonly treated, the English seaman deserted whenever 
he had the opportunity. 

Events were evidently tending toward a war, to avoid 
which the President sent William Piuckney, as joint com- 
missioner with James Monroe, who was already minister April. 
at the court of St. James. The English commissioners 
manifested a great desire not to impress American sea- 
men, but to redress, as speedily as possible, any mistake 
of that character. They urged, that to relinquish the 
right of search for deserters, would be ruinous to the Eng- 
lish navy in time of war. Suggesting, also, that stringent 
laws should be made by both nations, to prevent seamen 
from passing from the service of the one to the other. The 
prejudices of the EngUsh people would not permit, at 
least for the present, any formal relinquishment of the 
right of impressment ; the commissioners further promised, 
that strict orders should be issued to the naval com- 
manders not to abuse the right. 

With the understanding that the question of impress- 



566 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, ments was still open, and subject to future adjustment, 
a treaty for ten j-ears was negotiated between the two 



1807. countries. This treaty was more advantageous, upon the 
^^' wbole, to the United States, than the one negotiated by 
Jay, and was certainly better than the existing irritating 
relations of the two governments. France at this time, 
by virtue of the Berlin decree, continued to seize and con- 
fiscate American property, while Great Britain was anx- 
ious to be on as good terms with the United States as 
her situation would permit. Yet the President, and 

Mar. Madison, his Secretary of State, arbitrarily rejected the 
treaty, without either consulting the rest of the cabinet, 
or the Senate which was in session. The plea given for 
this extraordinary act was, that the treaty was not satis- 
fiictory on the impressment question. The rejection of 
the treaty left the relations of the two countries in a worse 
condition than ever, even endangering their peace. Wash- 
ington and his cabinet, in ratifying the Jay treaty, secured 
to the country thirteen years of peace and unexpected 
prosperity ; the rejection of this treaty was succeeded by 
four years of ruinous evils, which residted in plunging the 
nation into a war. Though the English government itself 
was disposed to conciliate, and friendly in its expressions, 
yet its naval commanders were exceedingly insolent in 
their intercourse with the Americans. The inability of 
the navy to maintain the nation's honor, tempted these 
unscrupulous commanders to insult its flag. Thus far 
they had confined their visits to merchantmen, presently 
they went a step farther. 

The United States frigate Chesapeake, of thirty-eight 
gims, had enlisted four men who, it was said, were de- 
serters from the British ship-of-war Melampus. It was 
afterward proved that only one of them was an English- 
man. Strict orders had been issued by the government 
to the recruiting officers not to enlist British subjects, 
knowing them to be such. 



I 



THE ATTACK ON THE FRIGATE CHESAPEAKE. 567 

Several English men-of-war were, at this time, lying <^H/^P- 

in Cbesaiieake Bay ; of the number was the frigate 

Leopard, of fifty guns. When it was known that the 1807. 
Chesapeake was about to put to sea, the Leopard passed 
out a few hours before, and when some miles from the 
coast, she neared and hailed the Chesapeake, under the 
pretense of sending despatches to Europe. A lieutenant 
came on board with a demand for the English seamen. Jmn^' 
Commodore Barron refused the demand, on the ground 
there were no such men on board. This refusal brought 
a broadside from the Leopard, which killed three men and 
wounded eighteen others. As the attack was entirely 
unexpected, and Barron iinprej^ared, he struck his colors, 
after firing a single gun. The four men were taken from 
the Chesai^eake, and the Leo2)ard passed on to Halifax, 
while the Chesapeake returned to Norfolk, her crew deeply 
mortified and thirsting for revenge. 

The indignation of the whole people was intense. The 
insults of impressing men from merchantmen were as 
nothing, compared with firing into a national vessel. 
The President immediately issued a proclamation, in which jyjy 
he complained of the outrage, and ordered the British 
men-of-war out of the American waters, but as he had 
not the power to enforce the order it was disobeyed, and 
the people were enjoined not to have intercourse with the 
British vessels. He also called a special session of Con- 
gress, and a messenger was sent to England, with instruc- 
tions to the American minister to demand satisfaction for 
the outrage. But a fast-saihng vessel had already left 
Halifax with the intelligence. The British government 
immediately disavowed the act, and sent, soon after, a 
special messenger to arrange the difficulty. 

In the mean whde France and England vied with each 
other in issuing and enforcing decrees, which, in their 
effect, would ruin all neutral commerce. English orders 
in council required any vessel bound to a port in France Nov. 



9 



568 HISTOBY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, to toucli at some English port, and there ohtain a license 

to proceed on the voyage. Any vessel that did not com- 

1807. i^ly with this despotic decree was forbidden to export 
French merchandise, unless the cargo was first brought to 
an EngUsh port and paid duties before it was shipped to 
Dec. a neutral country. A month later Bonaparte retaliated 
by another decree, dated at Milan, by which every vessel 
that complied with the British decree, was declared to be 
forfeited. Thus American commerce was preyed upon by 
both parties. 

As a scheme of retaliation, and to bring the belliger- 
ents to terms, Congress, on the recommendation of the 
Dec. President, laid an embargo, which prohibited American 
commerce with France and England. A measure lauded 
by its advocates as the only means to save to their country 
American seamen and cargoes, and at the same time 
compel France and England to rejjcal their offensive de- 
^''^- crees. The effect, however, was just the reverse. Bona- 
parte was delighted with the embargo, because it dimin- 
ished just so much of England's income, her means to 
carry on the war against himself ; on the other hand. 
Great Britain was not dependent on American produce, 
the trade to Spain and Portugal, and their colonies, had 
both been recently opened to her merchants, who were 
very willing that their enterprising rivals should remain 
at home to experiment on political theories. The em- 
bargo itself was exceedingly unpopular in the United 
States. The intelligent portion of the people was un- 
able to see what benefit could be derived fl-om their 
ships rotting in the ports, their seamen out of employ- 
ment, the industry of the country prostrated, and the 
millions of surplus property now worthless for want of a 
market. 

Some years before Jefferson had expressed the senti- 
ment that the United States " should practise neither 
commerce nor navigation, but stand with respect to Eu- 



OPPOSITION TO THE EMBAEGO. 569 

rope precisely on the footing of China." Had the people chap. 

submitted implicitly to the embargo, the system of non- 

intercourse with other nations would have been complete ; 1807. 
as it was, on the recommendation of the Executive, Con- 
gress found it necessary to pass stringent laws to enforce 
its observance. The President was authorized to call out 
the miHtia and employ ships as revenue cutters to prevent 
cargoes of American produce leaving the country. When 
it became known that this enforcing act had really become 
a law, public feeling, in many places, could be no longer 
restrained. Many of the papers announced its passage in 
mourning columns, under the motto, " Liberty is dead." 
General Lincoln, of revolutionary memory, resigned the 
collectorship of the port of Boston rather than enforce the 
law ; and great numbers of custom-house officers in other 
places did the same. In the agricultural portions of the 
country, the effect of the embargo was not so immediate 
as in the commercial. The planters and farmers, implicitly 
trusting in the wisdom of the Executive, stored up their 
cotton, tobacco and grain, hoping for a market when the 
belligerents would be pleased to rejieal their hostile 
decrees. 

Some good grew out of this evil. The tens of thou- 
sands thrown out of employment by the effect of the em- 
bargo and kindred measures, were compelled by the iron 
hand of necessity to seek a livelihood by other means, and 
their attention was somewhat directed to domestic manu- 
factures. 

Opposition to the embargo still continued ; in Con- 
gress violent debates were held from day to day upon the 
exciting topic. At length even the planters and farmers 
began to waver in their faith, and to see as well as the 
New Englanders that it was a futile measure ; that in- 
stead of bringing the French and English to terms it was 
the subject of their ridicule, while it was becoming more 
and more ruinous to the nation. 



570 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. Madison, who had been elected President, plainly in- 
timated his wish that the obnoxious measure should, in 

ISOT. some way, be got rid of; and three days before the close 
of Jefferson's term the arbitrary act, forced upon the 
country without a moment's warning, and which brought 
ruin upon thousands in loss of property and of employ- 
ment, was, to the joy of the nation, repealed. 

Thus drew to a close Jefferson's administration. Non- 
importation acts, so effective in colonial times, were futile 
under other circumstances — a fact which the advocates of 
the non-intercourse theory were some time in learning. 
There was as much diversity in estimating Jefferson's 
character as there was in relation to his iDohcy. His ad- 
mirers lauded him as the embodiment of political wisdom 
and republican simplicity. An enthusiastic believer in 
the power of the masses to govern themselves, he was an 
advocate for the rights of humanity, not merely in name 
but in sincerity, and as such deserves to be held in 
honor. 



CHAPTER XLII. 

MADISON'S ADMINISTRATION 

Condition of the Country. — Erskine's Negotiation. — Depredations upon 
American Commerce. — Bonaparte's RambouUlet Decree. — Affair of 
the Little Belt. — The Census. — Indian Troubles. — Tecumseh and the 
Prophet.— Battle of Tippecanoe.— The two Parties.— The Twelfth Con- 
gress. — Henry Clay. — John C. Calhoun. — Threatening Aspect of For- 
eign Relations. — John Randolph. — Debates in Congress. — Another Em- 
bargo. — War declared against Great Britain. — Opposition to the War. 
— Riots at Baltimore. — Operations iu the North-west. — Surrender of 
Hull. — Impressment of American Seamen. — Failures to invade Canada. 

The incoming administration was virtually pledged ^^f' 
to continue the foreign policy of its predecessor, thougli 



that policy had not yet accomplished what its sanguioe 1809. 
friends anticipated. The prediction of the Federalists — 
the conservative jiarty of those days — that such measures 
would lead to a war with England, seemed to he near its 
fulfilment. The prospect was gloomy indeed. The 
nation was totally unjjrepared for such an event. Neither 
army nor navy to command respect ; no munitions of war 
worthy the name ; the defences of the seaboard almost 
worthless ; the revenue, owing to the embargo and non- 
intercourse acts, much diminished and diminishing more 
and more. The President and his cabinet desired to re- 
lieve the country of these pressing evils. 

To accomplish this end, negotiations were commenced 
with Erskine, the resident British Minister. The youth- 
ful Erskine was a generous and noble-hearted man ; a 



572 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, -warm friend of the United States, unused to tlie tricks of 
diplomacy, he really wished to act generously for the in- 

1809. terests of both nations, and not selfishly for his own. He 
knew that Britain would derive great advantage from the 
renewal of trade with the United States, and hoped that 
the latter might he induced to take sides in the present 
struggle against France. 

In accordance with the spirit of certain instructions, 
Erskine thought himself authorized to offer " a suitable 
lirovision for the widows and orphans of those who were 
killed on board the Chesapeake," and to announce the 
conditional repeal of the Orders in Council as far as they 
applied to the commerce of the United States. This re- 
peal was to take place on the tenth of the following June. 

1810. The President, on this assurance, issued a proclamation, 
giving permission for a renewal of commercial intercourse 

April- -^vith Great Britain. The news was hailed with joy 
througliout the land. In a few weeks more than a thou- 
sand ships, laden with American produce, were on their 
way to foreign markets. This gleam of sunshine was soon 
obscured. Four months after the President issued another 

Aug. proclamation ; he now recalled the previous one, and again 
established non-intercourse between the two countries. 

The British ministry had disavowed the provisional 
arrangement made by Erskine, giving as one reason that 
he had gone beyond his instructions. In the communica- 
tion accepting Erskine's offer to pi'ovide for the sufferers 
in the Chesapeake afiair, the provision was spoken of as 
an " act of justice comporting with what was due from his 
Britannic majesty to his own honor." This uncourteous 
remark gave offence, and furnished another pretext for 
breaking off the negotiation. 

The failure of this arrangement, which had promised 
so much, greatly mortified the President and his cabinet, 
and as greatly wounded the self-respect of the nation. 
In consequence of this feeling, Jackson, the special envoy, 



MERCHANTS ASK PERMISSION TO ARM THEIR SHIPS. 573 

sent soon after by England, was not very graciously re- ™Ap 

ceived. Negotiations were, however, commenced with. 

him, but after exchanging angry notes for some months, 1810. 
all diplomatic intercourse was suspended between the two 
countries. 

American commerce had now less protection than 
ever. In the desperate conflict going on in Europe it was 
impossible to obtain redress from any of the belligerents. 
The ocean swarmed with French and English cruisers, 
while Danish privateers infested the northern seas. They 
all enjoyed a rich harvest in plundering American mer- 
chantmen, under the convenient pretence that they car- 
ried goods contraband of war. Great numbers of ships 
thus pillaged were burned at sea to destroy all traces of 
the robbery. Willing to trust to their own genius to 
escape capture, the American merchants asked permission 
to arm their ships in self-defence. Congress denied the 
request, on the ground that such a state of affairs would 
be war ! The people, however, thought there was little 
to choose between actual war and a system of active legal- 
ized piracy. Even the planters and farmers, finding on 
their hands a vast amount of produce, for which a market 
was denied, were now inclined to strengthen the navy, 
that it might protect commerce, or if necessaiy make an 
irruption into Canada, and by that means compel Great 
Britain to repeal her odious decrees. 

France in the mean time was committing greater out- 
rages on American commerce than even England. Bo- 
naparte issued a decree, the Kambouillet, by which any 
American vessel that entered a French port or a port of 
any country under French control, was declared liable to Mar 
confiscation. It shows the deUberate design of tliis pi- 
ratical decree, that it was not promulgated till six weeks 
after its date. The first intimation American merchants 
received of its existence, was the seizure of one hundred 
and thirty-two of their shijDS, in French ports. These 



574 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, -^vere soon after sold with their cargoes, and the money, 

amounting to eight milHons of dollars, placed in the 

1810. French treasury. Exjjostulations against such high-handed 
measures were treated with contempt and insult. The 
French minister of foreign affairs even charged the United 
States " with a want of honor, energy, and just political 
views," in not defending themselves. Bonaparte's great 
object was to drive them into a war with England, and 
thus exclude from her American produce. With this in- 
tention he pretended he would revoke the Berhn and Milan 
decrees, on condition the United States would make their 
rights respected, or in other words, go to war with Eng- 
land. At this time the only port iu Europe really open 
to American commerce was that of Archangel in Kussia. 
There American ships, after running the gauntlet between 
French and Danish cruisers, landed their cargoes of 
merchandise, which were theuce smuggled into France 
and Germany. 

Ere long Bonaparte's want of money mastered his 
hatred of England, and he unblushingly became the viola- 
tor of his own decrees, and sold to the Americans, at enor- 
mous prices, licenses which gave them permission to in- 
troduce their products into French ports. 

None felt the national insult given in the Chesapeake 
affair so deeply as the naval officers. They were anx- 
iously watching for an opportunity to retaliate. 

The frigate President, Captain Rodgers, was cruising off 
the capes of Delaware, when a strange sloop-of-war gave 
chase, but when within a few miles, her signals not being 
answered, she stood to the southAvard. The President 
now iu turn gave chase, and in the twilight of the evening 
came within hailing distance. Eodgers hailed, but was 
answered by the same question ; another hail was given 
with a similar result. The stranger fired a gun, which 
was repUed to by one from the President. These were 



TECUMSEH AND THE PROPHET. 575' 

succeeded by broadsides from both vessels. The action chap. 

lasted about twenty minutes, when the stranger was com- , 

pletely disabled. Rodgers hailed again, and now was 1810. 
answered that the vessel was his Majesty's sloop-of-war ^^ 
Little Belt. The disparity in the injury done to the re- 
spective vessels was quite remarkable. The Little Belt 
had more than thirty of her crew killed and wounded, 
while the President was scarcely injured, and had only one 
person slightly wounded. The affair created much ex- 
citement in both nations, and served to increase that 
alienation of feehng which had been so long in existence. 
The statements of the commanding officers differed very 
much as to the commencement of the encounter, but as 
each government accepted the testimony of its own officers, 
the matter was jjermitted to drop. 

The census just taken, showed the following result: — 
the ratio of representation was fixed at thh-ty-five thou- 
sand : 

Free Whites. Slaves. All others. Totals. Ecps. 

5,862.093. 1,191,364. 186,446. 7,239,903. 182. 

Events of serious interest were occurring on the western 
frontier. Numbers of Indian tribes from time to time had 
ceded their lands and moved farther west. But the in- 
satiable white man still pressed on ; his cultivated fields 
still encroached upon the Indian's hunting-grounds, and 
game was fast disappearing. When is this grasping at 
land to end ? asked the savages of each other. Two 
brothers, twins, of the Shawnee tribe, resolved to free 
their brethren from the aggressions of the settlers. 
Their plans were well laid, and showed an intimate knowl- 
edge of the secret of influence. The one, Tecumseh, 
was to play the warrior's part, the other Elskwatawa, 
more commonly known as the Prophet, appealed to their 
superstitions ; he professed to be a wonderful medicine- 
man, and in communication with the Great Spirit. 

Tecumseh travelled from tribe to tribe, all along the 



576 HISTOEY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

^XLU ^^^^^^^'^y f''om north of the great lakes to the Grulf of 

, Mexico, and by his eloquence endeavored to unite them 

1811. in a universal conspiracy against the common enemy. 
He knew the attempt to expel the invaders would he 
vain, hut he hoped his people would unite as one man, 
and refuse to sell them any more of their lands. To ac- 
comphsh their purpose the Indians must he independent ; 
they must dispense with the few comforts they received 
from the white man, and they must spurn the religion 
which missionaries had been laboring to teach them. The 
Prophet fulfilled his part ; he awed his simple auditors 
with imposing powwows ; the Great Spirit had given him 
marvellous powers. He could at a word make pumpkins, 
as large as wigwams, spring out of the earth ; or ears of 
corn, each large enough to feed a dozen men ; he appealed 
to then' reverence for the customs of their ancestors, and 
sneered at their degradation in being the slave of the 
white man's whiskey, or fire-water, as he significantly 
called it. He must be obeyed— they must throw aside 
the blanket and dress in skins ; instead of the gun they 
must use the ancient bow and arrow ; and the iron toma- 
hawk must give place to the stone hatchet of their fathers ; 
but above all, they must discard the religion of the white 
man ; it was the rejection of their ancient rehgion, which 
made the Great Spirit so angry. 

Alarm spread along the frontier settlements. The 
Miamis had sold a portion of their lands on both sides of 
the "Wabash. Tecumseh was absent at the time, but 
protested afterward, contending that as all the lands be- 
longed equally to all the Indians, no tribe had a right to 
sell a portion of them without the consent of the others. 

General William Henry Harrison, the Governor of the 
Territory of Indiana, held a conference with Tecumseh, 
who at the time professed to be friendly, but bis conduct 
afterward excited suspicion. Lest the Indians should 
imexpectedly commence hostilities, Harrison marched to 



BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 577 

the town lately established by the Prophet, at the junction ^,?{^P- 

of the Wabash and Tippecanoe rivers. Messengers sent 

by the Prophet met the army a few miles from the town. 1811. 
Though Indians were hovering around the army on its 
march, yet efforts to hold a conference with them had thus 
far been unsuccessful. The messengers expressed great 
surprise that the Americans should ajiproach their town, 
since the Prophet and his people were very desirous of 
peace. Harrison assured them that he had no intention 
to engage in hostilities, unless they themselves should 
attack him, and he invited the Prophet and his chiefs to 
an interview the next day. The messengers departed ap- 
parently pleased with the proposal, and on their part 
promised full compliance. 

Knowing the Indian character, Harrison suspected 
treachery, and encamped with great caution ; his men, 
placed in a hollow square, slept upon their arms. The 
next morning, about four o'clock, the Indians suddenly 
attacked the camj), but failed to break the line. For Nov. 
three hours the contest was very severe. The Indians 
would advance with great impetuosity, and then retreat 
to renew the effort. These movements were regulated by 
signals given by rattling deers' hoofs. When daylight 
appeared, the mounted men charged, and the savages fled 
in great haste. The next day the Prophet's town was 
found to be deserted. Tecumseh himself was not present 
at the battle of Tippecanoe. 

The belligerents of Europe still continued their ag- 
gressions upon American commerce. Kecent intelligence 
from France indicated but little prospect of obtaining re- 
dress for present grievances, while the impressment ques- 
tion made the affairs with Great Britain still more com- 
plicated. Differences of opinion prevailed, as to the best 
means of obtaining justice for these foreign aggressions. 
The people of New England, and the merchants of the 
37 



578 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, commercial cities and seaports of the other States, felt 

1 especially aggrieved by the pohcy of the national govern- 

1811. ment. The embargo and non-importation acts had ruined 
their commerce, and brought distress upon tens of thou- 
sands. Upon them, almost alone, had fallen the evils 
resulting from these political experiments. The people 
of the West, and of the interior of the Atlantic States, 
were in favor of hostilities ; their territory would he exempt 
from invasion, and they had no seaport towns to suffer 
from bombardment. Thus there were really two parties, 
the one in favor of obtaining redress by peaceful measures, 
the other by resorting to war. 

In view of these threatening indications, the Presi- 
dent, by proclamation, convened the twelfth Congress a 
Nov. month earlier than the usual time of meeting. This 
■*• Congress and the one succeeding are no less remarkable 
for the measures they introduced than for the unusual 
number of their members, who afterward filled a large 
space in the history of the country. It was a transition 
period. The patriots of the revolution, now venerable 
with age, were fast passing away from the councils of the 
nation, wliile their places were fiUed by more youthful 
members. Heretofore the leaders in Congress had been 
moderate in their measures, and were unwilling, unless 
for the best of reasons, to plunge the nation into a war. 

As a member of the House of Kepresentatives, appeared 
Henry Clay, of Kentucky. The son of a Baptist clergy- 
man of Virginia, he had been left at an early age a penni- 
less orphan. Struggling through many trials, his native 
eloquence had now placed him in the foremost rank of his 
country's orators. Ardent and generous, bland and yet 
imperious, as captivating in social life as he was frank in 
his public acts, he was destined to wield a mighty in- 
fluence in the coimcils of the nation. John C. Calhoun, 
of South Carolina, was also a member ; the close student 
and ardent theorist, dealing in first principles, he was 



THREATENING ASPECT OF FOREIGN RELATIONS. 579 

logical and eloquent. His style more suited to forensic ™-^^- 
debates than to popular assemblies. 

The President, in his message, directed the attention 1811. 
of Congress to the threatening aspect of Foreign Relations. 
This led to animated debates, in which the policy of peace 
or war ; the defences of the country ; the preliminary 
measures in case of a declaration of hostilities, came up 
for discussion. The speeches of the members may be 
taken as the exponents of the opinions of their constitu- 
ents. The people of the West were especially clamorous 
for war. The recent outbreak of the Indians, on the 
western frontiers, was confidently attributed to the in- 
fluence of British emissaries. This charge, though based 
upon surmises, served to increase the prejudice against 
England, and gave renewed life to the hatred of her pro- 
duced by the Revolution. 

Finally, the Committee of Foreign Relations, in their 
report to the House, recommended, in the words of the 
President, " That the United States be immediately put Dec. 
into an armor and attitude demanded by the crisis ; 
that an additional force of ten thousand regulars be 
raised ; that the President be authorized to accept the 
sen'ices of fifty thousand volunteers ; and also that the 
vessels of the navy worthy of repair be fitted up and put 
in commission." Two separate resolutions were oifered ; 
one authorized the merchants to arm in self-defence, and 
the other, as a preliminary to war, to lay an embargo for 
ninety days. After an animated discussion these were 
both rejected. 

Felix Grundy, of Tennessee, avowed that the report 
of the Committee was designed to prepare the public mind 
for war. " We are pledged," said he, " to France to con- 
tinue our restrictions against Great Britain ; we have tied 
the Gordian knot ; we cannot untie it ; we can cut it 
with the sword." " Though our restrictive system 
operates unequally, we must maintain it," He also advo- 



Dec. 



6'8D HISTOEY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, cated the invasion and conquest of Canada, and the re- 

caption of her inbaliitants as members of the confederacy, 

1811. in order to preserve the equilibrium of the government. 
" When Louisiana," said he, " will be fully peopled, the 
Northern States will lose their power ; they will be at the 
discretion of others ; they can be depressed at pleasure." 
Therefore he was not only in favor of admitting Canada, 
but also Florida. 

John Kandolph, of Virginia, in that sarcastic manner 
peculiar to himself, characterized the embargo and non- 
importation acts as most impolitic and ruinous measures 
— they had " knocked down the price of cotton to seven 
cents and tobacco to nothing," while they had increased 
the price of every article of first necessity three or four 
hundred per cent. This is the condition into which we 
have brought ourselves by our want of wisdom. But is 
war the true remedy ; who wiU profit by it "^ Speculators, 
commissioners and contractors. Who must suffer by it .? 
The people. It is their blood, their taxes, that must 
flow to support it. Will you plimge the nation into war, 
because you have passed a foolish and ruinous law, and 
are ashamed to repeal it ? 

He indignantly repelled the charge of British attach- 
ment made against those who were not willing to rush 
into war with England. " Strange," said he, " that we 
have no objection to any other people or government, 
civilized or savage ; we find no difficulty in maintaining 
relations of peace and amity with the Autocrat of aU the 
Russias ; with the Dey of Algiers and his divan of 
pirates, or Little Turtle of the Miamis, barbarians and 
savages, Turks and infidels of every clime and color, with 
them we can trade and treat. But name England, and 
all our antipathies are up in arms against her ; against 
those whose blood runs in our veins, in common with 
whom we claim Shakspeare and Mdton, Newton and 
Locke, Sidney and Chatham, as brethren. Her form of 



DEBATES IN CONGRESS HENRY CLAY. 581 

government, the freest on earth, except our own, and ^^J*- 

from which every valuable principle of our institutions has 

been borrowed. There are honest prejudices growing out 1811. 
of the Revolution. But by whom had they been suppress- 
ed when they ran counter to the interests of his country ? 
By Washington. By whom are they most keenly felt ? 
By those who have fled to this abused country since the 
breaking out of the French revolution, and who have set 
themselves up as political teachers." This was in allusion 
to the editors of nearly aU the papers in favor of war, who 
were foreigners — " these are the patriots who scruple not 
to brand with the epithet of Tory, those men by whose 
blood your liberties have been cemented." 

Henry Clay urged, in reply, that the only means left 
to obtain the recognition of oui national rights was to 
fight for them. A war would produce the repeal of the 
Orders in Council, and give us commerce and character ; 
the nation by this mongrel peace would not only lose its 
commerce, but its honor. If we yield one point, presently 
another will be demanded ; our only safety is to defend 
the nation's rights ; — even if the seaboard should be sub- 
dued, yet the energy of the West would save the liberties 
of the country. Shall we bear the cuffs and scoffs of Sept. 
British arrogance, because we fear French subjugation ? ^' 
Who ever learned, in the school of base submission, the 
lessons of noble freedom, and courage, and independence \" 

On the other side of the House, it was admitted that 
causes for war existed, but were they sufficient to justify 
the government of the United States in rushing impre- 
pared into a contest with the most powerful nation on 
earth ? This was the question to be decided by Congress. 
" What are we to gain by war ? " asked Sheffey of Vir- 
ginia. " Shall we throw away a trade of thirty-two millions 
with Great Britain for two with France ? Peace is our 
policy ; we are now the most prosperous and happy 
people on earth. This is more to lis, than all the Orders 



582 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, in Council or the trade with France. We cannot bring 

XLII- ^ . . . . ° 

Great Britain to terms by embargo and non-importation 

1811. acts ; neither can we starve the workl by refusing to ex- 
port our surjjhis grain. Our revenue is low enough now, 
in time of war it wiU be almost nothing. We should be 
willing to fight for the rights of impressed native-born 
Americans, but not for the right to harbor deserters from 
the British service." — " Is this embargo a preparation for 
war ? " asked Josiah Quincy of Massachusetts. " We have 
no information that England intends war. It is her 
policy to continue commerce with us, not to destroy it. 
But we are told that the object is to protect our merchants. 
Heaven help them from embargo protection ! The mer- 
chants have petitioned — not for embargo — not for com- 
mercial embarrassment and annihilation — but for pro- 
tection." 

1812. While these debates were in progress in the House, the 
same general subject was under discussion in the Senate. 
In both Houses an unusual number of southern members 
were now in favor of making the navy more efficient. It 
was urged that the only way to bring Great Britain to 
terms was by harassing her commerce on the ocean. To 
do this a fleet was needed. "Create afleet of thirty frigates," 
said Lloyd, of Massachusetts, " and New England alone 
will officer it in five weeks." " How can we contend with 
the most colossal power the world ever saw, except by our 
navy, scattered over the ocean, requiring ten times as 
many British vessels to watch them ? Adopt this policy, 
and soon the English people would ask their government, 
Why this war upon our trade ? why violate the rights of 
Americans .^' For whose benefit is this war ? Soon you 
wiU force the people of the United States to become their 

' "They (the Orders in Council) were grievously unjust to neutrals, and 
it is now (1860) gener.illy allowed that they were contrary to the law of na- 
tions, and to our own municipal laws." — Lord Chief Justice Campbell, in 
his Lives of the Chancellors, vol vii. p. 218. 



THE PEESIDENT RECOMMENDS WAR. 583 

own manufacturers ; you will stimulate them to become ™^l'- 
a naval power, which one day may dispute with you the 



supremacy of the ocean." " In a short time the English 1812. 
government would be compelled to repeal its odious de- 
crees." " To protect commerce is to aid agriculture, to 
benefit the northern as well as the middle and southern 
States. Moreover, it is essential to the preservation of 
the Union ; the commercial States will not endure that 
their rights should be systematically trampled upon from 
year to year, and they denied the defence which the God 
of nature has given them." 

The discussions of these five months bad a great influ- 
ence upon the public mind. Though unwilling to use 
harsher measures than to authorize the merchants to de- 
fend themselves by arming their ships, the President sent 
a special message to Congress recommending an embargo 
for sixty days. The bill was amended by substituting 
ninety for sixty, in which form it passed, debate being cut April 
short by the rule of the previous question. 

One month and a half later, intelligence from France 
made known that Bonaparte, in violation of his word, had 
declared the obnoxious decrees of Berlin and Milan hence- 
forth the settled policy of the Empire. Thus the Emperor June. 
had entrapped the President. But England was as much 
in the wrong as France, and if so, why not declare war 
against both ? — It was openly avowed in Parliament that 
the offensive decrees and blockades must be maintained, 
or France coidd receive raw material from the United 
States ; continue her manufactures, and thus obtain the 
means to carry on the war. Great Britain also wished to 
secure for her own people the monopoly of commerce, as 
well as that of manufacturing for the world. 

The President finally sent another message to Congress, 
in which he recapitulated the wrongs inflicted by England 
in her impressments and violations of the rights of neutrals. 
This was plainly a war message, and in accordance with 



584 HISTOEY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, that view, a bill was drawn up declaring war against 

Great Britain. It was passed by a strictly party vote : — 

1812. in the House 79 to 49, in the Senate 19 to 13. 
June rpj^g people were far from being unanimous in their 

approbation of the declaration of war. The minority of 
the Lower House of Congress jrablished an address to 
their constituents, in which the views of those opposed to 
the war found expression. After a review of the contro- 
versy between the United States and the belligerents, they 
contend there was etpial cause for hostihties against both 
England and France ; that it was unreasonable to exj)ect 
the full recognition of neutrals' rights while the desperate 
conflict in Eurojie was in progress ; that conflict would 
soon end, and then the cause for war on our part would be 
removed. The Address says, " The effect of the British 
orders of blockade, is to deprive us of the commerce of 
France and her dependencies, while they leave open to us 
the commerce of all the rest of the world ; the former 
worth yearly about six millions and a half, and the latter 
worth thirty-eight millions. Shall the latter be sacrificed 
for the former ? A nation like the United States, happy 
in its great local relations ; removed from that bloody 
theatre of Europe, with a maritime border opening vast 
fields of enterprise ; with territorial possessions exceeding 
every real want ; its firesides safe ; its altars undefiled ; 
from invasion nothing to fear ; from acq[uisition nothing 
to hope, how shall such a nation look to Heaven for its 
smiles, while throwing away as though they were worth- 
less, all the blessings and joys which peace and such a 
distinguished lot include ? But how will war upon the 
land protect commerce ? How are our mariners to be 
benefited by a war which exposes those who are free, 
without promising release to those who are impressed ? 
But it is said that war is demanded by honor. If honor 
demands a war with England, what opiate lulls that 
honor to sleep over the wrongs done us by France ? " 



THE EMBARRASSMENTS OF CONGRESS. 585 

Such was the diversity of opinion as to the expediency ^:^^f- 

of engaging in war, especially when the country, in every 

respect, was so unprepared. The oj^ponents of the measure 1812. 
were assailed as unpatriotic, which they retorted by charg- 
ing the advocates of war with subserviency to the policy 
of France. 

It was easier for Congress to declare war, than to ob- 
tain the means to prosecute it. The treasury was almost 
empty, the non-importation acts, and embargoes, had 
nearly ruined the revenue ; the army was very limited in 
number, and very deficient in officers of experience ; while 
the navy was wanting in ships and munitions. Congress 
passed a bill to enlist twenty-five thousand men as regu- 
lars, and authorized the President to accept the services 
of fifty thousand volunteers. 

In appointing officers for the army, recourse was 
had, almost exclusively, to those who had served in the 
Kevolution ; but the most prominent of these had passed 
away, and the remainder, with but one or two exceptions, 
had been engaged in civil affairs for thirty years ; and 
men competent to drill the recruits were not to be found. 
To remedy this want, Congress, now for the first time, 
made provision for the constant and liberal instruction of 
two hundred and fifty cadets in the military art, by estab- 
lishing professorships in the Academy at West Point. 
Here was another instance of the foresight of Washing- 
ton. He had, during his administration, urged upon Con- 
gress to establish and maintain a school ia which military 
tactics should be taught to officers, who in turn could 
easily drill the militia. The wise policy of the measure 
was amply shown in the rapidity with which the American 
volunteers were drilled and made efficient soldiers in the 
late Mexican war. But for the present the nation suffered i846. 
severely from false economy in not founding the Academy 
when first proposed. 

The first exhibition of the war spirit and the party 



586 HISTOKY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, feeling whicli existed was an attempt to stifle the freedom of 

the press. The editor of a paper in Baltimore, Alexander 

1812. Hanson, o. grandson of a president of the continental con- 
gress, had spoken in moderate terms in condemnation of the 
June declaration of war. A few days after, the mob, headed by 
■ a Frenchman, destroyed his press and compelled him to 
fly for his life. Eeceiving no protection in his rights, as 
the magistrates connived at the outrage, Hanson and some 
twenty others thought it their duty to vindicate the 
liberty of the press. Among this number was General 
Henry Lee, — the chivahic Light Horse Harry of the Kjv- 
olution, — the intimate friend of Washington, his eulo- 
gist by apjDointment of Congress, afterward Governor of 
Virginia, and General Lingan, also a worthy officer of the 
Eevolution. They determined to defend the office of the 
pajier. The mob ajipeared and stoned the house ; the 
magistrates meanwhile made no effort to quell the riot. 
Thus the rabble raged during the night ; in their attempts 
to force their way into the house, one of the ringleaders 
was shot. General Lingan was killed outright, and some 
of the other defenders of the office were most shamefully 
mangled and abused. General Lee was maimed for life. 
The leaders of the riot were never punished, though 
afterwards brought to trial, — a mere farce, — the district 
attorney even expressing his regret that all the defenders 
of the office had not been kiUed. 

General William Hull, who had served with some dis- 
tinction in the Eevolution, and now Governor of Michigan 
Territory, was appointed commander of the forces in that 
region. The Territory contained about five thousand in- 
habitants, mostly of French origin. He received orders to 
invade Canada, the ardent friends of the war complacently 
thinking the inhabitants of that British province would 
cheerfully put themselves under the protection of the 
stars and stripes. Hull, however, found himself in a short 
time surrounded by a superior force of British and In- 



GENERAL HULL SURRENDERS HIS ARMY. 587 

dians ; the enemy also held possession of Lake Erie, and chap. 
had easy couimunication with the rest of Canada, while '_ 



between Hull's army and the settlements, intervened a 1812. 
vast and unbroken forest of two hundred miles. He 
urged upon the government to secure the command of the 
Lake before any attempt should he made at invasion, and 
also to furnish him not less than three thousand well pro- 
visioned troops. But he was told that he must content 
himself with two thousand men, while nothing could be 
done to secure the control of the Lake. 

When Hull arrived at Detroit, then a village of some July 
eight hundred inhabitants, he had but eighteen hundred 
men, of whom the greater part were militia ; there he re- 
ceived orders to invade Canada immediately. But by a 
strange blunder, the intelligence of the declaration of war, 
designed for Hull, and franked by the Secretary of the 
Treasury, fell into the hands of the British. They availed 
themselves of the information, and immediately seized Mack- 
inaw ; the first intimation the garrison of that distant post 
received of the declaration of war. In a short time Hull 
himself was surrounded, and his communications cut off. 

The British general Proctor came up the Lake with 
reinforcements, whilst the British Fur Company enhsted 
their employees and excited the Indians. To open a road 
and obtain supplies, HuU sent out a detachment, but it 
fell into an ambuscade and was defeated. He now fortified 
himself, and to open communications to the river Kaisin, 
sent another detachment under Colonels McArthur and 
Cass ; they became bewildered in a swamp, and were forced Au". 
to find their way back to the camp. 14:. 

Presently General Brock, governor of Lower Canada, 
arrived at Maiden with more reinforcements. He passed 
over the river and summoned Hull to surrender, who re- 
fused, and an attack was made upon his position, both 
from the British vessels and batteries. Brock landed and 
approached with seven hundred and fifty regulars, and as 



588 HISTORY OF THK UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, many Indians. Hull had but eight hundred men, and, 

. . threatened with destruction, as he imagined, by an over- 

1812. whelming force, he surrendered his army and all Michigan 
Aug. at the same time. 

^^- Great indignation was expressed at this failure. The 

difficulties of Hull's position were very great, and perhaps, 
while no one doubted his personal courage, he may have 
wanted that sternness of soul so necessary to a successful 
commander. Those in authority screened themselves, by 
maldng the unfortunate general the scape-goat for their 
blunders, in sending liim with a force and means so inade- 
quate. When brought to trial, two years afterward, he 
urged in defence, that all the inhabitants of the territory 
would have been exposed to certain massacre had he at- 
temj^ted further resistance. The court, however, found 
him guilty of cowardice, and sentenced him to be shot ; 
but in consideration of his revolutionary services, the Presi- 
dent granted him a pardon. His papers, since published, 
have revealed the insurmountable difficulties that sur- 
rounded him. 

It is remarkable that one of the causes of the war, was 
removed within four days after its declaration. France 
unconditionally repealed the Berlin and Milan decrees, 
then Great Britain repealed her Orders in Council, which 
had been based on the French decrees. The impressment 
question still remained unsettled. Nearly six thousand 
cases of alleged impressment were on record in the State 
Department at Washington. It was admitted on the 
floor of the House of Commons, that there were probably 
sixteen hundred native-born Americans held in bondage 
in the British navy. Of these several hundred had already 
been liberated, and a willingness was expressed to dis- 
charge the remainder, as soon as their nationality was 
fully known. But the British naval officers complained 
that the plea of American citizenship was very much 
abused ; by forged documents, or by certificates, originally 



AMERICAN SHIPS IN ENGLISH POETS. 589 

genuine, but transferred from one seaman to another as oc- chap. 

casion required. The English government, moreover, was so L 

trammelled by forms that very seldom could the impressed 1812. 
sailor obtain redress ; all such cases must be brought be- 
fore the Court of Admiralty in London, to reach which 
was almost impossible. 

This, after all, was to be a war to protect personal free- 
dom ; to obtain security from the visits to our ships of 
British press-gangs, led by insolent officers, and as such 
took hold of the sympathies of the American people. 
But Britain said, pass a law prohibiting our seamen from 
enlisting in your service, and we will not search your 
ships. The reply was, the flag of the United States must 
shield those seeking its protection. This sentiment ap- 
peared to England very like an effort to seduce her sea- 
men from their allegiance. 

When intelligence of the declaration of war reached 
England, the government acted generously in relation to 
the American vessels in its ports. Instead of being con- Aug. 
fiscated as in France, these ships were permitted sis. 
weeks to load and unload, and in addition were furnished 
with protections against capture by English cruisers on 
their way home. Yet these very vessels and their car- 
goes were liable to confiscation, when they should arrive 
in their own land, and that by a law of Congress ! 

As one of the causes of the war had been removed, 
Foster, the British Minister at Washington, proposed a 
cessation of hostilities until another effort should be made 
to arrange the impressment question. This proposal was 
not accepted by the American government. Not until 
all hope of reconciliation was passed, did the English au- 
thorities issue letters of marque and reprisal against 
American commerce ; and they stiU continued to grant 
licenses and protection to American vessels carrying flour 
to Spain for the use of the British armies in that country. 

Hull's surrender threw a shadow over the prospect of 



590 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, conquering Canada. Strenuous efforts were made to in- 

J L crease the army on the frontiers of New York. Major 

1812. General Dearborn, who, when a youth, had served in the 
Kevolution, and had been Secretary of War, under Jeffer- 
son, had under his command, in the vicinity of Lake Cham- 
plain, five thousand troops, three thousand of whom were 
regulars ; and two thousand militia were stationed at 
different points on the St. Lawrence, east of Sackett's 
Harbor, while another army, miscellaneous in character, 
being composed of regulars, volunteers and militia, was 
stationed at different points from the village of Buffalo to 
Fort Niagara. The latter troops were under the com- 
mand of General Van Rensselaer. 

To insure success the Americans must have the con- 
trol of the Lakes Erie and Ontario ; on the latter they 
had already a little sloop-of-war, of sixteen guns, and 
manned by a regular crew. Captain Chauncey, of the 
Sept. navy yard at New York, was appointed to the command 
of the Lakes. He purchased some merchant vessels, and 
fitted them out with guns and other equipments, brought 
from Albany, at an immense amount of labor. He soon 
however swept the Lake of British shijis, which took 
refuge in Kingston harbor ; the Frontenac of the times of 
French rule in that quarter. Lieutenant Elliot, in the 
mean time, was sent to equip a fleet on Lake Erie. By 
a daring exploit he cut out from under the guns of Fort 
Oct, Erie, two British armed vessels, which had just come 
9- down the Lake from Detroit. 

The invasion of Canada commenced by an attempt to 
obtain possession of Queenstown, on Niagara river. Owing 
to a deficiency of boats, only about six hundred men, 
partly regulars and partly militia, passed over. Colonel 
S. Van Rensselaer, who commanded the militia, became 
separated from his men, and Colonel Christie, who com- 
manded the regulars, failed on account of the rapidity of 
the current to reach the shore. Those who landed were 



DEATH OF GENEEAL BKOCK AMERICAN PRISONERS. 591 

immediately attacked with great vigor. Eensselaer soon <^ap. 

fell, wonnded, but he ordered Captains Ogilvie and Wool 

to storm the battery, wliich they did in fine style, 1812. 
driving the British into a strong stone house, from which 
they could not be dislodged. General Brock, the same 
to whom Hull surrendered a few months before, was Oct. 
in command. Suddenly he headed a sortie from this 
house, which was promjitly repulsed, and he himself 
slain. 

During this time, a space of five or six hours, the 
Americans were striving to pass the river, but only five 
or six hundred succeeded. Suddenly a band of Indians 
emerged from the woods, and joined in the fray ; these 
were soon put to flight by Lieutenant Winfield Scott, 
who, with a company of regulars, volunteered for the pur- 
pose. The want of boats, and the want of system, had 
prevented a suitable number of Americans from passing 
over. In the mean while General Sheafe was advancing 
from Fort George, with reinforcements for the British. 
This intelligence, together with the sight of the wounded, 
who were brought in boats to the American side, somewhat 
cooled the ardor of the militia, and they refused to pass 
the river to aid their countrymen. Their wits were also 
sharpened, and they suddenly discovered that their com- 
mander had no constitutional authority to lead them into 
Canada. The result was, that those who had gone over, 
about one thousand in number, were compelled to surren- 
der themselves prisoners of war. General Van Eensselaer, 
mortified at the want of spirit manifested «n the occasion, 
resigned his command in disgust. 

InefSciency reigned in triumph all along the frontier. 
An expedition against Detroit, under the command of 
Harrison, was abandoned for want of means. The volun- 
teers from Kentucky, as well as others, became mutinous 
and refused to advance. One failure followed another in 
rapid succession. The officers were quarrelling among 



592 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, themselves, chargiDg each other with cowardice, and 
1 fighting bloodless duels, while the soldiers deserted in 



1812. bands, and those who remained were insubordinate. 
These ftxilures were unsparingly ridiculed in the news- 
papers opposed to the war, undertaken as it was without 
sufficient preparation. 



I 



CHAPTEB XLIIl. 

MADISON'S ADMINISTRATION— CONTINUED. 

The Vessels of the Navy. — The chase of the Constitution. — Capture of the 
Alert. — The Guerriire. — Incidents. — The Macedonian. — The Frolic. — 
The Java.— The effects of these Naval Conflicts in the United States 
and England. — Plan of Operations. — Harrison advances on Detroit. — 
General Winchester a Prisoner; Indian Barbarities. — The Kentuckians 
fall into an Ambuscade. — Repulse at Fort Stephen.son. — The loss of the 
Chesapeake. — Perry's Victory. — Battle of the Thames. — Andrew Jack- 
son. — Leads an Expedition ; its Termination. — York captured ; Death 
of General Pike. — Wilkinson transferred to the North. — Another at- 
tempt to conquer Canada. — Fort George destroyed; Newark burned. — 
The severe Retaliation. —The American Coast blockaded.— Ravages on 
the Shores of Chesapeake Bay. — Indian War in the South. — Jackson 
and others in the Field. — Battle at the Great Horse Shoe. — Captain 
Porter's Cruise. 

While the disasters recorded iu the last chapter were chap. 
in progress, the despised little navy had won laurels, by a ^^"^' 



series of yictories as unexpected as they were glorious. ;i8i2. 
When the war commenced, the whole navy of the United 
States in commission, consisted of only three first-class 
frigates ; the President, the Constitution, and the United 
States ; of the second class two, the Congress and the 
Essex ; the Wasp and Hornet, sloops-of-war ; and the 
brigs Argus, Syren, NautUus, Enterprise, and Vixen. 
The second class frigates Chesapeake, Constellation, and 
John Adams, were undergoing repairs. The fleet was 
ordered to assemble at New York to be in readiness to 
defend harbors, and not to venture to sea, lest it should 
38 



594 HISTOKT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, fall in the hands of the enemy ; a result which had been 
predicted again and again. Owing to the urgent remon- 



1812. strances of Captains Stewart and Bainbridge, the intention 
of thus withdrawing the navy was abandoned. Within a 
few hours after the declaration of war was known in New 
York, a portion of the fleet was passing out to sea, in 
search of the enemy. This prompt movement was made 
for the double purpose of avoiding the orders, which the 
ofl&cers suspected were on the way from Washington, to 
detain them in the harbor, and to make a dash at the 
Jamaica fleet, said to be passing under convoy off the coast. 
When two days out, they chased and exchanged shots 
with the British frigate Behadera, which, however, escaped 
and carried the news of the commencement of hostilities 
to HaUfax. The Americans continued the pursuit of the 
Jamaica fleet, even to the entrance of the British Channel, 
but without overtaking it. 

Meanwhile a British squadron issued from Halifax, to 
cruise off the port of New York. The Constitution, better 
known as Old Ironsides, commanded by Captain Isaac 
HuU, in endeavoring to enter that port fell in with this 
fleet, and was chased by all its vessels for four days — the 
most remarkable chase on record. The unexampled skill 
with which she was managed, ehcited universal admha- 

July. tion. Every nautical device was exhausted ; such as 
during a calm carrying out anchors and dropping them, 
and then pulling the ship up ; in the mean while, when 
opportunity served, exchanging shots with her adversaries. 
Finally she escaped into Boston. Orders from Washing- 
ton were sent to Captain Hull to remain there ; but he 
anticipated them, and put to sea before they arrived. 

The Essex was the first to capture a prize — a trans- 
port filled with soldiers — and shortly after, the British 
sloop-of-war Alert. The latter mistook the Essex for a 
merchantman, and came on expecting an easy victory, but 



CAPTURE OF THE GUEERIERE INCIDENTS. 595 

found herself so severely handled, that in a few minutes ^^;^^- 
she was fain to strike her colors. 



19. 



Off the mouth of the St. Lawrence, Captain Hull fell 1812. 
in with the British frigate Guerriere, one of the fleet 
which had recently chased him. The Guerriere was on 
the look-out for " Yankee craft ; " on one of her flags was 
the inscription, Not the Little Belt. Courting the combat, 
she shortened sail, and at long range opened upon the 
approaching Constitution ; the latter did not fire a gun, 
but manoeuvred to obtain a desirable position. Thus an 
hour and a half was consumed. When the Constitution 
secured her position, she poured in her broadsides with 
such rapidity and efi'ect, that the enemy struck his colors 
in thirty minutes. So completely was the Guerriere cut 
to pieces, that it was impossible to bring her into port, 
and Hull ordered her to be burned. The Guerriere had ^}IS- 
seventy-nine killed and wounded, while the Constitution 
had only seven, and was ready for action the next day. 
In connection with this encounter may be related two in- 
cidents, which show the spirit on board the respective 
ships. When the Constitution came within cannon-shot, 
the opening fire from the Guerriere killed two men. The 
men were impatient to avenge their companions, and 
Lieutenant Morris came on deck, and asked, " Can we re- 
turn the fire, sir ? " " No, sir," calmly repHed Hull. Soon 
after, Morris came again, and reported that another man 
was slain, and asked again, " Shall we return the fire?" 
" No, sir," was still the reply. For the third time, Morris 
soon appeared : " Can we fire now ? " Hull, pausing a mo- 
ment to survey the position of the ships, replied, " Yes, sir, 
you may /re now." The order was promptly obeyed, and 
Hull, with his eye intently fixed upon the enemy, ex- 
claimed, when he saw the efiect, " That ship is ours ! " 

On board the Guerriere were ten impressed Americans. 
They refused to fight against their countrymen, and were 
ordered below. One of them was afterward called upon 



596 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, deck, and asked by Captain Dacres if he knew the char- 

acter of the approaching shijD. He answered she was a 

1812. frigate. As she drew nearer, and merely manoeuvred, and 
made no reply with her guns, Dacres, somewhat puzzled, 
inquired again, " What does she mean ? Do you think she is 
going to strike without firing a gun ? " "I guess not, sir," 
replied the American ; " she will get the position she 
wants, and you will then learn her intentions ; with your 
permission, sir, I will step below." 

The United States, Captain Decatur, when cruising 
oif the Azores, gave chase to a British frigate, which 
proved to be the Macedonian. A running fight com- 
Oct. menced, which terminated by the Macedonian striking her 
^^- colors, after losing one hundred out of her three hundred 
men, while the United States lost only five men and seven 
wounded. The other ships made several prizes on their 
cruise. The Argus escaped by superior seamanship, after 
being chased three days by six vessels, and took and 
manned a prize during the chase. The Wasp, Captain 
Jones, met the British brig Frolic, acting as a convoy for 
six merchantmen ; to protect them she shortened sail and 
offered battle. The Wasp watched her opportunity, 
Oct. raked her antagonist, and then immediately boarded. The 
boarders found the deck of the Frolic covered with the 
slain, and only one man imhurt, who was calmly standing 
at the wheel, and one or two wounded officers, who threw 
down their swords. Not twenty of the crew were unhurt. 
The Wasp had only five killed and as many wounded. 
But before she could make sail, the Poictiers seventy-four 
came up, and took both vessels. 

Hull resigned the command of the Constitution, and 
Bainbridge was appointed in his place. Ofl" the coast of 
Brazil the Constitution gave chase to a British frigate, 
the Java. The fight began at the distance of a mile, and 
was continued with great spirit, each manoeuvring to get 
the advantage. At length they approached so closely as 



EFFECTS PEODUCED BY THE NAVAL VICTORIES. 597 

to fight yard-arm and yard-arm. The Java's masts *^3/\^j 

were shot away, and her fire silenced. The Constitution 

drew off to repair her rigging, and then approached to 1813. 
renew the conflict, which the Java prevented by striking 
her flag. Nearly half of her men, numbering four hun- 
dred, were killed or wounded, while the Constitution had 
only nine killed and twenty-live wounded ; among the '^^^^ 
latter was her commander. There being no friendly port 
in that part of the world to which he could take his prize, 
Bainbridge ordered her to be set on fire and blown up. 

It is difficult to conceive the exultation with which 
these victories were hailed in the United States. The 
very great disparity in the losses sustained by the respect- 
ive combatants had excited surprise in both nations. 
The English loss of men in killed and wounded, compared 
with that of the Americans, was as eight to one. There 
could be no doubt but the ships of the latter had been 
better managed and better fought. The English people, 
we learn from the newspapers of the day, were deeply mor- 
tified at the loss of their frigates. One of the papers asked, 
" Shall England, the mistress of the seas and dictator of 
the maritime law of nations, be driven from her proud 
eminence by a piece of striped bunting flying at the mast- 
heads of a few fir-built frigates, manned by a handful of 
bastards and outlaws ? " Some were thus abusive, but 
others were more respectful, and even found consolation in 
the fact that the Americans were the descendants of 
Englishmen. Says the London Times : " We witnessed 
the gloom which that event (the capture of the Guerri^re) 
cast over high and honorable minds ; it is not merely that 
an English frigate has been taken after a brave resistance, 
but it has been by a new enemy." And apprehensions 
were expressed that their maritime superiority was about 
to be challenged, if not taken away, by this new rival, 
which had so suddenly sprung into existence. " The 
mourning for this last most affecting event, (the capture 



598 HISTOEY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, of the Java,) can never be laid aside till the honor 

of the British flag shall be redeemed, by establishing 

1813. the same triumjjhant superiority over the Americans 
that we have heretofore had over all the nations that tra- 
verse the seas. Five hundred British vessels and three 
frigates have been captured in seven months by the 
Americans. Can the Enghsh people hear this unmoved ? 
Down to this moment not an American frigate has struck 
her flag. They insult and laugh at us ; they leave their 
ports when they please ; and return when it suits their 
convenience ; they traverse the Atlantic ; they beset the 
West India Islands ; they advance to the very chops of 
the Channel ; they parade along the coast of South 
America ; nothing chases, nothing intercepts, nothing 
engages them, but yields to them a triumph." 

To account for these unexampled victories, some said 
the American frigates were Seventy-fours in disguise ; 
others that their guns were heavier than those of their op- 
ponents. The latter supposition may have been true to 
some extent. But national self-complacency found more 
consolation in the conjecture, that the spirit of the Ameri- 
can navy ought to be imputed to the few runaway British 
sailors enlisted in it ! 

The American privateers maintained the honor of the 
nation as much as the regular navy. Much more would 
have been accomplished, but the majority of the mer- 
chants were loth to send privateers to prey upon the prop- 
erty of their commercial friends and correspondents. As 
it was, more than three hundred prizes were taken, three 
thousand prisoners, and a vast amount of merchandise. 

Changes were made in the President's cabinet. Gen- 
eral John Armstrong — the author of the famous Anony- 
mous Address, at the close of the Eevolution — was ap- 
pointed Secretary of War in place of William Eustis, of 
Massachusetts, resigned. James Monroe still remained 



THE ARMIES — THE DISASTER AT THE RAISIN. 599 

at the head of the State Department, and Albert Galla- chap. 

tin at that of the Treasury, an office which he held under 

Jefferson. * 1813. 

The surrender of Hull aroused the warlike spirit of the 
West, and volunteers presented themselves in great num- 
bers. The Americans were divided into three armies. 
That of the west, at the head of Lake Erie, under General 
Hariison ; that of the centre, between Lakes Erie and 
Ontario, under General Dearborn, and that of the north 
in the vicinity of Lake Champlain, under General Wade 
Hampton. A similar arrangement was made by the 
British. Sir George Prevost was in chief command of 
the forces in Canada, General Proctor commanded the 
troops stationed near Detroit, and General Sheafe those 
in the neighborhood of Montreal and the Sorel river. 

To recover what Hull had lost, Harrison moved toward 
Detroit and Maiden ; meantime General Winchester ad- 
vanced with eight hundred volunteers, chiefly young men 
from Kentucky. That State swarmed with soldiers, 
drawn from every rank in society. As he drew near the 
Maumce Eapids, Winchester learned that a body of Brit- 
ish and Indians was in possession of Frenchtown, on the 
river Eaisin. He sent a detachment, which routed the 
enemy, and maintained its position until he himself came 
up. When General Proctor learned of the approach of 
Winchester, he hastened across the lake on the ice from 
Maiden, with fifteen hundred British and Indians, to cut 
him off, before Harrison could give aid. The attack was Jan. 
made on the American camp before daylight. In the 
midst of the confusion Winchester was taken prisoner. 
Proctor promised him security for the safety of his men, 
and thus induced him to surrender them as prisoners. 
Fearing the approach of Harrison, Proctor retreated as 
rapidly as possible to Maiden, and in violation of his 
pledges, he left the wounded Americans. 

The Indians turned back and murdered great numbers 



22. 



600 HISTOKT OF THE UNITED STATES. 



XLm' '^^ them, and carried the remainder to Detroit ; for some 

of these they demanded enormous ransoms, and others 

1813. they reserved for tortures. The conduct of Proctor, in 
thus breaking his word, and violating the principles of 
common humanity, excited against the enemy the bitterest 
feelings of revenge. " Eemember the Eaisin ! " became 
the war-cry of the Kentuckians. 

Harrison advanced to the rapids, and there established 
a post, which iu honor of the Governor of Ohio, he named 
Fort Meigs. There he was besieged, in the course of a 
few months, by a large force of British and their Indian 
allies. Learning that G-encral Green Clay, of Kentucky, 
was descending the Maumee with twelve hundred men in 
boats, Harrison sent orders for half the men to land and 
seize the enemy's batteries on the north side of the river, 
spike their guns, and then come to the Fort, whence a 
sortie was to be made against the main batteries on the 
south side. The first order was fulfilled, and the British 
routed ; but instead of hastening to the Fort, the Ken- 
tuckians became unmanageable, and pursued a few In- 
dians, who led them into an ambuscade prepared by the 
cunning Tecumseh. They were in turn routed by the 
Indians and a detachment of British soldiers, and of the 
Kentuckians only about one hundred and fifty escaped. 
Nevertheless Proctor was alarmed ; the force of the Ameri- 
cans was unknown, and as the Indians began to desert, 
^ay- he comu^enced a hurried retreat across the lake to Maiden. 
Two months after. Proctor again appeared before Fort 
Meigs, now under the command of Clay. Not able to 
take it, and having learned that Fort Steiihenson, on the 
Sandusky, had a small garrison. Proctor left Tecumseh 
with his Indians to besiege Fort Meigs, while he himself 
went against Fort Stephenson. This fort had a garrison 
of only one hundred and sixty young men, commanded 
by Major George Croghan, a youth in his twenty-second 
year. When summoned to surrender, he repUed that he 



( 



THE LOSS OF THE CHESAPEAKE. 601 

should defend the fort till the last man was buried in its chap. 

ruins. The siege commenced, and when a breach was 

made, the British regulars, at the word of their Colonel, 1813. 
who cried out, " Come on, give the Yankees no quarter," 
rushed to the assault. As they crowded into the ditch, 
the only cannon in the fort opened from a masked port 
hole. The gun was loaded with a double charge of musket "^' 
balls ; the effect was terrific, the enemy fled in confusion, 
and abandoned the siege. The Indians at the first repulse 
deserted, as usual. 

Meanwhile there had been other conflicts at sea. 
Captain James Lawrence, in command of the Hornet, had 
captured the Peacock oif the coast of South America. Feb, 
The ships were equal in size and equipments. Tire action 
lasted but fifteen minutes. The Peacock raised signals of 
distress, for she was sinking rapidly, and in sjDite of the 
efforts of both crews she went down, carrying with her 
some of her own men and three of the Hornet's. On his 
return, Lawrence was appointed to the command of the 
frigate Chesapeake, then in Boston harbor, undergoing 
repairs and enlisting a crew. 

The British frigate Shannon, Captain Broke, had ap- 
peared off the harbor as if oflering a challenge. The im- 
petuous Lawrence put to sea, notwithstanding the de- 
ficiency of his crew, some of whom were much dissatisfied 
on account of back arrearages of prize money of a former 
cruise. The ship was also deficient in officers, the first 
lieutenant being unable from illness to go on board. The 
contest was witnessed by thousands from the hills and J™^' 
house tops. When the ships met, the Chesapeake be- 
came entangled with the Shannon in such a manner as to 
be exposed to a raking fire. Lawrence, mortally wounded 
at the commencement of the battle, was carried below. 
This created confusion for a few minutes, and Broke 
noticing that the fire had slackened, promptly gave orders 
to board, leading the men himself. The American 



602 HISTOBY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

XLm' ^°^i"<i^'"s ^^^ just Leen called, and but few of them were 
yet upon deck ; after a hand to hand fight, the Chesa- 



1813. peake's color.s were hauled down. The captor sailed im- 
mediately to Halifixx. There Captain Lawrence died. 
He was buried with military honors and marks of respect. 
Afterward his remains were removed to New York. His 
last command, " Don't give up the ship," has become the 
watchword in the American navy. 

The rejoicings in England over the capture of the 
Chesapeake Avere so great as to become highly compH- 
mentary to the Americans, to whom they were as gratify- 
ing as if the Shannon had been captured. It was an un- 
equivocal evidence of the respect that the navy had inspired. 
The same spirit which had done so much honor to the 
nation on the ocean, displayed itself on the lakes. The 
random incursions of undisciplined volunteers accom- 
pKshed nothing until the control of the lakes was secured. 
A youthful lieutenant in the United States navy, Oliver 
Hazard Perry, a native of Newport, Ehode Island, volun- 
teered for that service. Comnaodore Chauncey appointed 
him to the command of the fleet on Lake Erie. After 
much labor, Perry built and fitted out at the port of Erie, 
nine vessels of various sizes, from one carrying twenty- 
five guns down to those which carried only one. The 
American fleet had altogether fifty-five guns ; the British 
had six vessels carrying sixty-three guns. The number 
of men was about five hundred in each fleet. Owing to 
the direction of the wind at the commencement of the 
battle. Perry's flag ship, the Lawrence, was exposed to the 
concentrated fire of the enemy's entire fleet, and in a short 
time she was made a complete wreck. As the wind in- 
creased, the remaining ships were enabled to come up. 
Leaping into a boat, and in the midst of flying balls, 
Perry now transferred his flag, which bore the motto 
" Don't give up the ship," to the next largest vessel, the 
Niagara. When passing through the enemy's line he 



BATTLE OF THE THAMES — DEATH OF TECUMSEH. 603 

poured in broadsides, right and left, within pistol-shot. The chap. 

other American vessels closed, and in less than an hour 

every British ship had surrendered. Tlie hero announced 1813. 
the result to General Harrison, in the memorable despatch, 
" We have met the enemy and they are ours." 

Harrison hastened to profit by the victory, and to lead ]y. ' 
his men against Detroit and Maiden. The fleet carried a 
portion of the troops across the lake, but they found 
Maiden deserted. Proctor and Tecumseh had destroyed 
their military stores, and taken with them the horses and 
cattle in the neighborhood, and were now in full retreat 
toward the Moravian town, on the Thames. At Detroit 
Harrison was unexpectedly reinforced by about thirty-five 
hundred mounted Kentucldans, under the venerable Grov- 
emor Shelby, one of the heroes of King's Mountain, and 
Colonel Richard M. Johnson. The pursuit now com- 
menced in earnest. After a forced march of sixty miles, 
they overtook the enemy. A desperate encounter took 
place ; nearly all Proctor's men were either taken or slain, Oct. 
he himself barely escaping with about two hundred dra- 
goons. The Indians fought furiously when cheered on by 
Tecumseh, but when he fell, it is said by a pistol ball 
fired by Colonel Johnson himself, they broke and fled. 
With the life of the great savage planner ended Indian 
hostilities in that part of the frontier. The Kentucldans 
returned home in triumph. Leaxdng Colonel Lewis Cass, 
who was soon after appointed Governor of Michigan, to 
garrison Detroit with his brigade, Harrison embarked with 
thirteen hundred regulars for Bufialo, to assist in the 
cherished project of conquering Canada. 

Military enthusiasm was not confined to Kentucky 
and the region north of the Ohio. In answer to a call to 
defend New Orleans, volunteers in great numbers assembled 
at Nashville, Tennessee. General Andrew Jackson was 
their chosen commander. 



5. 



604 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. Jackson was a native of South Carolina, of Scotcli- 

Irish descent ; left fatherless at an early age : — ^his mother 

1813. the descendant of a Scotch Covenanter, a woman of 
great energy, and of a daring spirit, but softened and sub- 
dued by religious principle and humane sympathy. From 
her he inherited a hatred of oppression, and an indomi- 
table will that never failed to triumph. At the age of 
thirteen — in Eevolutionary times — he began his career un- 
der General Sumter at the skirmish of Hanging Kock. 
ITSO. His eldest brother had already fallen in battle, and here, in 
company with the brother next in age, he fought vaUantly. 
Their home broken up and pillaged, the mother and her 
two sons became exiles from their own fireside. Soon 
after the sons, through the plottings of Tories, were made 
prisoners. The next day a British officer ordered Andrew 
to clean his boots, but the young hero indignantly refused 
to perform the menial ser™e, and steadily persisted, 
though his life was threatened and the officer struck him 
with the flat of his sword. 

The heroic mother at length obtained the exchange of 
her sons, but only in a short time to follow to the grave 
the elder, who died of small-pox, which both the brothers 
had contracted during their captivity. 

The next year the mother, with some other ladies, 
travelled more than one hundred miles to minister to the 
wants of the unfortunate patriots, her neighbors, who were 
confined as j)risoners on board of loathsome prison ships 
in the harbor of Charleston. Enfeebled by her labors of 
love, she contracted the fever then raging among the 
prisoners and speedily passed away. Thus at the age of 
fifteen Jackson was left without a relative in his native 
land. Scarcely has it ever fallen to the lot of a youth to 
experience a series of such harrowing misfortunes. Though 
young in years these trials had their efi'ect ; they gave him 
the maturity of manhood ; they strengthened the decision 
of character, which so marked his life. To his friends 



JACKSON'S EXPEDITION TO NATCHEZ. 605 



CHAP. 
XLIII. 



generous to a fault, yet lie never suffered his will to be 

successfully resisted ; not from stubbornness — that strong- 

hold of little minds — but from his impression of right. 1796. 

He early emigrated to Tennessee, then a territory, and 
was the first representative from that State in the House. 
He was then described by a contemporary, " as having 
been a tall, lank, uncouth-looking personage, with long 
locks of hair hanging over his face, and a cue down his 
back tied in an eel-skin ; his dress singular, his manners 
and deportment that of a rough backwoodsman. No eye 
among his associates was prophetic enough, under that 
rude aspect, to recognize or imagine the future General 
and President.' 

New Orleans was almost defenceless ; the same mis- 1813. 
taken economy we have seen elsewhere, had been exercised 
here. There were only sixteen hundred men in the gar- 
rison, scarcely any ammunition, and no means of con- 
veyance. Though without authority from the War De- 
partment, General Wilkinson — the same who in the days 
of the Revolution was one of the aids of General Gates, — 
had taken measures to survey all the water passages to 
the Gulf, and partially repair their fortifications. 

This expedition from Tennessee had a singular termi- 
nation. The infantry, in number sixteen hundred, floated 
in flat-boats down the Cumberland, the Ohio and the 
Mississippi to Natchez, where they were joined by four 
hundred horsemen, who had marched across the country. 
Armstrong, the Secretary of War, sent orders to Jackson, Feb. 
who had been refused a commission in the regular army, 
to disband his men at Natchez, and deliver his military 
stores to General Wilkinson. To implicitly obey orders 
which he did not approve was not one of the virtues of 
Andrew Jackson. Suspecting that this order was a pre- 
text to get rid of the volunteers without paying their 

' nildretb, vol. iv., p. 692. 



606 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

fjHAP. wages, he positively refused to obey. Indignant at tlie 

wrong done the men, he unceremoniously drove out of the 

1813. camp the United States recruiting officers, who had come, 
hoping to induce those volunteers to enlist in the regular 
army, who had not the funds to return home. On his own 
responsibility, Jackson provided conveyances for the sick, 
and marched the whole force back to Nashville, and there 
-*^P^'^ disbanded them. The War Department overlooked the in- 
subordination, and quietly paid the bill. 

The military operations on the northern frontier con- 
tinued as unimportant, as they were inefficient in bringing 
Great Britain to terms. To secure the control of Lake 
Ontario it was necessary to destroy or capture the ships 
and military stores at York, now Toronto, then the capi- 
April. tal of Upper Canada, and the head-quarters of General 
Sheafe. When the spring opened. Commodore Chauncey 
sailed with sixteen hundred men on board his fleet. They 
landed a short distance from the town. Lieutenant Scott, 
who had recently been exchanged, leading the van. General 
Pike led the troops to the assault. The retreating British 
fired a magazine, which exploded with tremendous power, 
overwhelmed the advancing Americans, and killed and 
wounded more than two hundred of their number, among 
whom was the gallant Pike, who died the next day. The 
town surrendered, and the contents of another magazine 
were transferred to Sackett's Harbor. 

Just before the Americans embarked, a little one 
story building, known as the Parliament House, was 
burned. The British attributed the act to them, but 
General Dearborn and his officers beheved it was set on 
fire by the disaffected Canadians, as they had threatened 
to burn it. 

Major Grafton certified that no American could have 
committed the deed without his knowledge, as he had the 
command of the patrol in the vicinity of the House. The 



PRIVATE RESENTMENTS — ANOTHER FAILURE. 607 

Canadian Chief Justice of the district, in a communication, ^^^P- 

spoke of the humane conduct of the Americans, " which 

entitled them to the gratitude of the people of York." 1813. 
Yet retaliation, for the burning of this building, was the 
excuse offered afterward for the wanton destruction and 
jnllaging of the juiblic buildings at Washington. 

During the summer occurred a number of failures, all 
traceable to the inefficiency of the commanders. Finally 
certain members of Congress informally requested the 
President, through secretary Monroe, to recall Dearborn 
from the command. Accordingly Wilkinson was trans- 
ferred from New Orleans to the northern frontier. General 
Wade Hampton, recently in command at Norfolk, was also 
ajjpointed to the command of a division ; but as he and 
Wilkinson were not on friendly terms, he accejited the 
office only on condition that he should not be placed 
under the command of the latter. That patriotism which 
would overlook private resentment for the good of the 
country must be sacrificed to the personal enmities of these 
gentlemen. Hoping to remove the difficulty, Armstrong, 
the Secretary of War, suddenly appeared on the ground, 
and assumed the chief command himself ; but he and 
Willdnson could not agree on a ]Aan of operations. After May. 
refusing to accept the proffered resignation of Wilkinson, 
who did not relish the uncalled-for interference, the Secre- 
tary returned to his more appropriate duties at Washington. 

Another futile attempt was made to conquer Canada. 
General Wilkinson moved his army from Sackett's Har- 
bor, toward Montreal ; in the mean time General Hamp- 
ton was advancing up from Lake Champlain. The two 
American armies if united would number twelve thousand 
men, while the whole British force was about two thou- 
sand, and these mostly militia. Wilkinson wrote to 
Hampton, in Armstrong's name, to join him at St. Eegis, 
but instead of co-operating, Hampton replied that he had 
given up the expedition and was already on his return to 



608 HISTOEY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, winter-quarters. Under these circumstances, Wilkinsou 
found it necessary to retreat, as the season would be too 



1813. far advanced before he could obtain the provisions and 
23^" aid which Hampton had failed to supply. During the 
previous summer there had been on the lake, as well as on 
its shores, several expeditions as unimportant in them- 
selves as they were trifling in their results. 

When General Harrison, who soon after resigned his 
commission, retired, he left a General McClure in com- 
mand at the head of Lake Ontario. Presently McClure 
found himself with only a few regular troops, as the militia 
under his command were returning home ; their term of 
enlistments had expired. Not prepared to resist the ad- 
vancing Britisli, he was forced to retire across the river to 
the American side. Before leaving he destroyed Fort 
George, and set on tire the village of Newark, lest the 
enemy, as he said, should find comfortable winter-quarters. 
McClure gave as his excuse for thus burning the homes, 
and turning four hundred iuoifensive people, men, women, 
and children, out into the winter's storms, that he thought 
he was justified by the orders of the War Department. 
In truth there was no excuse for the cruel and wanton 

Dec. act. Evil begets evU. Ten days after, the enemy passed 

"" ■ over to the American side, surprised Fort Niagara, and 
put the garrison to the sword. Then commenced the 
retaliation for the burning of Newark. They burned 
Lewistown, Youngstown, Manchester, Black Eock, and 
Buffalo, and indeed every house that could be reached 
from Lake Ontario to Erie. Prevost issued immediately 
after a proclamation, in which he stated that these rav- 
ages were provoked by the burning of Newark, and if the 
Americans would hereafter refrain from such outrages, he 
should conduct the war on humane and civUized principles. 
During the summer the whole American coast was 

June, blockaded by the overwhelming force of the British fleet. 
The Hornet, the frigates United States and Macedonian, 



BRITISH ARMED VESSELS IN THE CHESAPEAKE. 609 

were shut up in the harbor of New London. The harbor c".pAP. 

of New York, the Delaware and Chesapeake bays, the 

harbors of Charleston and Savannah, the mouth of the 1813. 
Mississippi, were all blockaded. In the Chesapeake alone 
there were more than twenty British armed vessels, on 
board of which were three or fiuir thousand land troops. 
These frequently landed and pillaged the towns, and in 
some instances committed outrages upon the inhabitants, 
especially at Hampton, a small village on James river. 
The infamy of conducting these marauding expeditions 
belongs to Vice-Admiral Cockburn, whose conduct was 
more in accordance with the brutality of a savage, than 
with the humanity of an officer of a Christian nation. 
These marauders were well characterized by the term, 
" Water Winnebagoes." 

The war was not confined to the northern frontier. 
The untiring Tecumseh had visited the Creeks the pre- 
vious year, and inspired them, especially their young war- 
riors, with his views. The Creeks occupied the greater 
portion of what is now the State of Alabama, and a por- 
tion of south-western Georgia. Numbers of the tribe had 
become partially civilized, living upon the products of 
their fields and their herds. The nation was divided in 
opinion. The intelligent and wealthy jjortion were in 
favor of jjeace, while the ignorant and poor were in favor 
of war. The one j)arty saw in a war with the United 
States, the utter ruin of their nation ; the other a return 
to their ancient customs, and a perfect independence of 
the white man. The settlers blindly neglected the re- 
peated warnings given of these hostile intentions. When 
suddenly Wetherford, a celebrated half-breed chief, sur- 
rounded Fort Mimms, on the lower Alabama, and put to 
death nearly three hundred persons, men, women, and 
children. The South was speedOy roused, and soon about 
seven thousand volunteers were on their march in four 
39 



610 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, divisions, to penetrate the enemy's country, from as many 
points, and to meet in the centre. 

1813. General Jackson, with his recent Natchez volunteers, 
®''' moved from Nashville ; from East Tennessee, another 

division, under General Cocke ; one from Georgia, and 

1814. one from the Mississippi Territory. In addition the 
lower Creeks took up arms against their brethren ; and 
also Cherokees and Choctaws joined in the expedition. A 
series of attacks commenced upon the savage enemy. 
The Creeks were defeated in every conflict ; cut down 
without mercy, their warriors disdaining to ask for then- 
lives. The divisions penetrated the country from different 
points, and drove them from place to jDlace. In this last 
struggle for their homes they were overwhelmed, hut not 
conquered. Thus the war continued for some months, 
when the greater portion of the volunteers returned home. 
Jackson was compelled to suspend offensive operations 
tiU reinforcements should arrive. At length they came, 
and he went in pursuit of the enemy. On a peninsula 
formed by a peculiar bend in the Tallapoosa river, known as 
Emuchfau, or the Horse-shoe, the Indians made their last 
stand. They fortified the neck of the peninsula, as much 
as their rude materials would permit. Thither they trans- 
ferred their wives and children, in whose defence they 
resolved to die, and there in gloomy silence they awaited 
the attack. 

j£j^^ The assault was made on the breastwork, which, after 

28. five hours' fighting, was carried. Nearly six hundred of 
the warriors perished, and the women and children were 
taken prisoners. Thus, after a campaign of six months, 
the power of the Creeks was broken, and with it 
their spirit was crushed. The warriors who were yet 
living, began to give themselves up to the conquerors. A 
noble-looking chief suddenly^ at the hour of midnight, pre- 
sented himself to Jackson. " I fought at Fort Mimms ; 
I fought the army of Georgia," said he ; "I did you all 



« 



THE CRUISE OF THE ESSEX. 611 

the harm I could. Had I been supported as I was prom- chap. 

ised, I would have done more. But my warriors are kiU- '_ 

ed, and I can fight no longer ; I look back with sorrow 1814. 
that I have brought ruin upon my nation. I am now in 
your power, do with me as you please ; I too am a war- 
rior." Such were the words of Wetherford, the destroyer 
of Fort Mimms. Jackson could appreciate the man who 
would fight for his country ; though the volunteers mur- 
mured, he spared the life of the chief. The General, so 
stern in the performance of duty, was not devoid of 
humane sympathy. When walking on the field of battle 
his attention was arrested by the wail of an Indian babe. 
He himself was a childless man, yet his heart was touched. 
Ordering the infant to be brought to the camp, he asked 
the Indian women to take care of it. " Its mother is 
dead, let it die too," was their reply. The General took 
the child himself, carried it to his home, 'and reared it in 
his own family. 

The Essex, Captain Porter, passed round Cape Horn, 1813. 
expecting to meet the Constitution in the Pacific ; but she, 
as has already been noted, returned home after the capture 
of the Java. When he arrived at Valparaiso, Porter was 
gratified to be received as a friend. Chili had thrown off 
her allegiance to SjDain, and was no longer an ally of 
England. Learning there that the viceroy of Peru had, 
in expectation of war between Spain and the United 
States, authorized cruisers against American whalers, he 
put to sea in order to chastise these cruisers, one of whom 
he captured and disarmed. He then went in pursuit of 
the British whalers, who were all armed, and carried com- 
missions from their own government to capture American 
whaling vessels. In a few months he captured twelve of 
these whalers. Hearing that the British frigate Phoebe 
had been sent in pursuit of him, he returned early in the 
year to Valparaiso, in search of the enemy. Soon the 



612 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. Phoebe appeared, accompanied by the sloop-of-war Cherub. 

. In guns and men, the Phccbe was a full match for the 

1813. Essex. The two hostile vessels took their position off the 
harbor. Porter determined to avoid the unequal contest 
by escaping to sea ; but, when passing out of the harbor, 
a sudden squall carried away his main-topmast, and as 
he could not return to jiort, he was at the mercy of the 
Phoebe and Cherub. After an encounter, perhaps the 
most desperate of any naval engagement during the war, 
Ma,._ he was forced to surrender ; but he did not strike until 

1811- he had lost the unusual number of fifty-eight killed, and 
sixty-six wounded. In giving an account of the affair to 
the Secretary of the Navy, he wrote : " We have been 
unfortunate, but not disgraced." 



CHAPTEE XLIV. 

MADISON'S ADMINISTRATION— CONTINUED. 

The Thirteenth Congress; its Members. — Daniel Webster. — Manifesto of 
the British Government. — Embarrassments. — Commissioners of Peace 
appointed. — Britain offers to negotiate. — Jacob Brown. — Winfield 
Scott. — E. W. Ripley. — Wilkinson unsuccessful ; his Misfortunes. — 
Capture of Fort Erie. — Battle of Lundy's Lane. — Its effect. — British 
repulsed at Fort Erie ; their Batteries captured. — Battle on Lake 
Champlain. ^British marauding E.xpeditions on the Shores of the 
Chesapeake. — Bladensburg. — Capture of Washington. — The Public 
Buildings burned. — Defence of Fort McHenry. — Death of General 
Ross. — Bombardment of Stonington. — Distress in New England. — De- 
bates in Congress. — Embargo and Non-importation Act repealed. — 
Hartford Convention. 

The thirteenth Congress, in obedience to the call of ^?^^- 

the President, met in special session, some months before . 

the usual time. The last census had increased the num- 1813. 
ber of Representatives in the House to 182. Of the 24^ 
present members a greater proportion than in the last 
Congress were oi^posed to the war, and, indeed, its own 
advocates on that subject were by no means harmonious 
among themselves. 

In this Congress, as well as in the last, appeared many 
new men, whose influence was afterward greatly felt, not 
only in their respective States, but in moulding the future 
policy of the nation itself. Among these were John Forsyth 
of Georgia, William Gaston of North Carolina, John 
McLean of Ohio, and Daniel Webster of New Hamp- 
shire, who now commenced that career so marked in our 



614 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, national councils. Born on the frontiers of that State, his 

privileges were limited. The quiet, thoughtful boy, fond 

1813. of books, read all within his reach. His fxther, a man of 
strong sense and sterling integrity ; his mother, a woman 
of more than ordinary intellect and force of character ; to 
their judicious guidance may be traced the best elements 
of his education. The father noticed his expanding in- 
tellect, the calm power of mind that intuitively grasped 
thoughts far beyond his years. His resolution was taken ; 
though very limited in means, he must educate his son. 
At length he informed Daniel of his determination to 
send him to college. At this first intimation that the 
dreams which had been floating before his imagination 
were to be realized, the boy's emotions were too deep for 
utterance ; he threw himself upon his father's neck and 
wept for joy. 

In Congress stirring debates ensued. Not only was 
the policy of the war severely criticized, but the manner in 
which it had been conducted. Its advocates were sur- 
rounded with difficulties ; the means to carry it on were 
exhausted ; the revenue derived from commerce had 
dwindled to one million, with a prospect of still greater 
reduction ; enormous bounties were offered to obtain re- 
cruits for the army, but very few enlisted. The clashing 
of opinions on the subject had arrayed the people definitely 
on one side or the other. 
Jan. The British government issued to the world a mani- 

festo, in which certain charges industriously circulated in 
the United States were utterly denied — such as that 
they had instigated the Indians to hostilities, or that 
they had endeavored to seduce the people of the Eastern 
States from the Union ; but on the contrary, they protested 
that the English peojile were actuated by a spirit of for- 
bearance, and wore truly desirous to be at peace and 
amity with the people of the United States. As to the 
question of search, they were unwilling to give up the 



THE WAR UNPOPULAR IN NEW ENGLAND. 615 

rio;lit to recover their desertino- seamen, unless tlie United SHaf. 

° . . XLI\. 

States would remove the necessity for impressments, by 

enacting laws forbidding British sailors to enlist in the 1813. 
American service. This document had a great effect in 
influencing the minds of the people in England, as well 
as upon those in the United States. 

The disasters of the last camijaign, and the want of 
money, a sufficiency of which could not be obtained by 
loans, were not as embarrassing to the government, as the 
opposition to the war which prevailed in the New Eng- 
land States. The Legislature of Massachusetts sent a 
remonstrance to Congress. They denounced the war as 
unreasonable, for Great Britain had repealed the obnoxious 
Orders in Council, and also offered to negotiate in relation 
to imjjressments. Undue influences in the councils of the 
nation had led to measures opposed to their interests, and 
had brought ruin upon them by war. It was a duty to 
their constituents to make this remonstrance. They ap- 
pealed to the Searcher of hearts for the purity of their 
motives, and their devotion to their country. 

The people of New England complained that for the 
last twelve years, their influence in the national govern- 
ment had not been in proportion to their population, in- 
telligence and wealth, — that their best and ablest men 
had been designedly excluded from positions of influence 
in the councils of the nation. 

In less than a year after the declaration of war, Presi- ^.^j. 
dent Madison, influenced by an offer of mediation on the 
part of Kussia, ajipointed Albert Gallatin, his Secretary of 
the Treasury, and James A. Bayard, commissioners to nego- 
tiate a peace. They were to act in concert with John 
Quincy Adams, then minister at the court of St. Peters- 
burg. The offered mediation by Eussia was decKned by 
England ; and nothing was accomplished by the com- 
missioners. Nearly a year afterward, the British govern- 
ment made a direct overture to treat of peace, either at 



Jan. 
li. 



616 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. London or at Gottenburg in Sweden. This offer was 

made in the face of the ultimate downfall of Bonaparte, 

1814. who had just been defeated at the battle of Leipsic. The 
President gladly accepted the offer, though he complained 
that the English government had rejected the mediation 
of Russia, which had been offered three several times. 
Accordingly, Henry Clay and Jonathan Russell, recently 
minister to England, were appointed additional commis- 
sioners of peace. In a month's time, they had received 
their instructions, and were on their way to Europe. 

These instructions took decided ground on the im- 
pressment question. " That degrading practice must cease," 
said they. " Our flag must protect the crew, or the United 
States cannot consider themselves an independent nation." 
Yet the promise was quietly made to enact a law for- 
bidding the enlistment of British sailors, either in the 
United States navy or in the mercantile service. Still 
more, the commissioners were privately authorized " to go 
further, to prevent a possibility of failure." It will be re- 
membered that this was the very law or assurance in 
effect, that Britain asked of Congress, at the commence- 
ment of the war. 

Engrossed with the affairs of Europe, England as yet 
could spare but few men or ships for the American 
war. Bonaparte having abdicated and retired to Elba, 
she had on her hands a large veteran army unemployed. 
Of this army, fourteen thousand soldiers were sent to 
Canada, while other portions were sent to different places 
in the United States. This acquisition changed the face 
of affairs on the northern frontier. 

The failures in that quarter, had thrown the adminis- 
tration at Washington into despair. The soldiers had 
but little confidence in officers, who were continually 
quarrelling with each other, and never acting in concert, 
and this favorite measure was about to be given up, from 
sheer want of proper persons to lead the enterprise. New 



NEW MEN ON THE STAGE. 617 

men were coming on tlie stage. The most promising of |^^^- 

these was Colonel Jacob Brown, a Pennsylvanian by birth, 

a Quaker by descent, who, when a school teacher in the 1S14. 
city of New York, attracted the attention of Hamilton, 
who made him his military secretary in the army of 1798. 
Brown subsequently removed to the northern part of New 
York State, and there, in his defence of Ogdensburg, as 
well as on other occasions, exhibited military talents of a 
high order. There was another youthful hero, destined to 
fill an honorable space in the military annals of bis country. 
Winfield Scott, a native of Virginia, originally bred for 
the bar ; he also belonged to the ai'my of '98. At the 
commencement of the war he raised and commanded a 
company of volunteers. To these may be added Eleazar 
W. Ripley, of Maine, who possessed talents of a high order. 

These young and enthusiastic officers believed that if 
the Americans were drilled, and led by commanders in 
whom they had confidence, they would meet the British 
regulars without fear for the result. Owing to their 
solicitations, another invasion of Canada was planned. 
Nothing, however, was gained by the effort, except the 
verification of their theory. 

Early in the spring, Wilkinson, who had been iU for 
months, moved with four thousand men, from winter 
quarters, to repel a British detachment. His progress was 
arrested near La Colle, at a stone mill, held as an outpost. 
The single heavy cannon brought to batter down the mill, 
sunk in the mire. An unusual thaw commencing, flooded 
the whole country, and opened Lake Champlain, of which 
the British had control. The Americans were fain to re- 
tire from the danger as soon as possible. Wilkinson was 
so much abused and ridiculed on account of this faUure, 
that he indignantly resigned, and demanded an inquiry 
into his conduct by a court-martial. 

One year from that time, he was honorably acquitted 
by the court. But the government, which he had faith- 



Mar. 



618 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, fully served for forty years, on the reduction of the army 

. . after the war, dismissed him from its service. Thus in 

1814. his old age he experienced the hardship of being turned 
upon the world without a competency. The State of 
Maryland came forward, and generously granted him a 
pension. 

When spring further opened, a concentration of forces 
on both sides resulted in a series of movements and counter- 
movements accomplishing nothing of importance. The 
first point resolved upon, was to seize Burlington Heights, 
at the head of Lake Ontario, before aid could come from 
York. In the mean time, Commodore Chauncey was to get 
the command of the lake. 

Having obtained permission from the government, 
General Brown, with thirty-five hundred men, some reg- 
ulars and some volunteers, passed in the night from 
Buffalo to Canada, presented himself in the morning be- 
fore Fort Erie, and summoned the garrison to surrender. 
In the course of the day, the fort complied. 
2. The British General Eiall, with an army equal in 

number to that of Brown, was stationed behind the Chip- 
pewa, distant fifteen miles. Colonel Scott, the next da}', 
led the advance against the enemy, whose outposts he 
drove in ; the remainder of the army came up at midnight. 
Brown here gave an indication of what he expected of his 
officers ; he cashiered one of their number for untimely re- 
treating in a skirmish. On the following day, Eiall left 
his intrenchments and crossed the Chippewa. The volun- 
teers could not resist the attack, but fled, leaving Scott's 
brigade exposed. The latter charged the advancing enemy 
with the bayonet, and forced them to retreat ; as they 
passed the bridge they destroyed it. KiaU immediately 
abandoned his camp and Queeustown, and leaving a strong 
force in Fort George, retreated to a favorable position 
twelve miles distant. The British loss in these engagements 
was about five hundred, the American about three hundred. 



THE BATTLE OF LUNDT'S LANE. 619 

This first victory, after a fair trial of strength, was very chap. 
gratifying to the Americans, privates as well as officers. 



24. 



Brown took possession of Queenstown, but found he had 1814. 
not the proper cannon to successfully attack Fort George, 
and that the fleet could not co-operate. After maintain- July 
ing his position three weeks, he fell back to the Chippewa. 
The British were not idle. On the very day that 
Brown reached the Chippewa, General Drummond ar- 
rived from York at Fort George, with large reinforce- 
ments. To prevent them from sending a detachment to 
destroy his stores at Schlosser, Brown made an advance 
upon the enemy. Scott led his brigade, accompanied by 
the artillery commanded by Towson. General Kiall was 
advancing in force in an opposite direction, intending on 
the following morning to attack the Americans. About 
sunset, when directly opposite the falls of Niagara, these 
parties unexpectedly met. The British took position on 
a rising ground, and there placed their artillery, consisting 
of seven pieces. These began to play upon Scott's bri- 
gade, while, because of their position on the hill, balls 
from Towson's guns could scarcely reach them. The loss 
of the Americans was great, yet they maintained their 
position, expecting Brown with the main army. When it 
was quite dark, he arrived. One of Scott's regiments under 
Major Jessup drove the Canadian militia before them, and, 
gaining the rear of the enemy, captured a number of 
prisoners, among whom was General Kiall himself, who 
having been wounded, was retiring. It was seen that the 
key of the position was the park of artillery on the hill. 
Said Eipley to Colonel James Miller : " Can you take that 
battery ? " " I'll try, sir," was the prompt reply. Then 
silently leading his regiment, which was partially concealed 
by the fence of a churchyard, along which they passed, 
Miller rushed upon the artillerists, and drove them from 
their guns at the point of the bayonet. Presently General 
Drummond advanced in the darkness to recover the 



620 HISTOET OF THE UNITED STATES. 

XLiv' ^^^^ ' ^^* ^^ ™^° quailed before the terrible fire whicli 

they encountered. He rallied them again ; and again 

1814-. they were forced from the hill. With the energy of des- 
peration, for the third time they advanced, and were 
again met with a resistance equally obstinate, — the op- 
posing forces fighting hand to hand with the bayonet. It 
^^^j was now midnight. The British sullenly retired. The 
25. Americans had maintained their ground, supplying their 
own exhausted ammunition from the cartridge-boxes of 
their slain foes. The men were almost perishing with 
hunger, thirst and fatigue. They had marched during the 
day fifteen miles, and contended with the enemy five 
hours. Exhausted, they sank upon the ground. The 
silence was broken only by the groans of the wounded and 
dying, and the roar of the mighty cataract, whose moan- 
ing tones was a fit requiem for the dead on that field of 
blood. 

The Americans at length retired to their camp, not 
having horses or any means to carry off the guns which 
they had captured. The scouts of the enemy soon dis- 
covered that they had retired, and a strong detachment 
was sent to reoccupy the hill and recover their artillery. 

Such was the midnight battle of Bridgewater, or Lundy's 
Lane. The Americans lost nearly seven hundred and 
fifty men — and the British nearly nine hundred ; an un- 
precedented loss, when comjDared with the number en- 
gaged. Brown and Scott were both wounded ; as well as 
nearly all the regimental ofiicers. The next morning there 
were but sixteen hundred effective men in the American 
camp. It was now seen that the Americans, when prop- 
erly led, could and would fight. They had met the vete- 
rans who fought under WelHngton in Spain, and repulsed 
them in three desjjerate encounters. This battle stood out 
in bold relief, when compared with the imbecility hitherto 
so characteristic of the campaigns on the northern fron- 



15. 



BRITISH EEPULSED — BATTLE ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN. 621 

tier. It acquired a national interest, as important in its ™;'^^- 
effect as the first naval victories. 

Tlie American army fell back to Fort Erie, tlie com- 1814. 
mand of wliich Brown intrusted to Colonel Edmund P. 
Gaines. In the course of a fortnight, Drummond ad- 
vanced with four thousand men, and after bombarding 
the fort, attempted at midnight to carry it by assault. 
The British, in the face of a destructive fire, charged 
again and again, even within a few feet of the intrench- An 
meuts. They were finally forced to retire, after sustain- 
ing a loss of nearly a thousand men — the Americans not 
losing a hundred. In a few weeks the energetic Brown, 
now partially recovered from his wounds, assumed the 
command. He determined to make a dash at the enemy's 
batteries, which were two miles in advance of their camp. 
The time, mid-day, was well chosen. Rushing out from Sept. 
the fort, before assistance could come from the British 
camp, he stormed the batteries, fired the magazines, 
spiked the guns, captured four hundred prisoners, and re- 
turned to the fort, leaving six hundred of the enemy 
killed and wounded. But this brilliant exploit cost him 
nearly three hundred men. Drummond immediately 
raised the siege and retreated beyond the Chippewa. 

Stirring events occurred on another part of the frontier. 
The little navy on Lake Champlain emulated the deeds 
of the one on Lake Erie just a year before. General 
Prevost, himself, marched from Canada with twelve 
thousand veteran troops to invade the State of New York 
— the town of Plattsburg was the special object of attack. 
There on the south bank of the Saranac, General Macomb 
was intrenched with an army of three thousand men, 
many of whom were invaUds. The main body of the 
American forces was under General Izard, at Sackett's 
Harbor. Macomb called upon the mihtia of Vermont and ^^P'- 
New York for aid ; three thousand of whom nobly re- 
sponded, as did their fathers thirty-seven years before, 



622 HISTOKY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, when Burgoyne was moving in the same direction, and for 

the same purpose. Commodore Macdonough, after lahor- 

1814. ing incessantly, had at last equipped a fleet. It consisted 
of a ship, the Saratoga, of twenty-sis guns, a brig of 
twenty guns, an armed schooner, and a sloop, besides 
some gun-boats, in all eighty-six guns and eight hundred 
and fifty-six men. The British soon ajjpeared, and be- 
gan to prepare batteries in order to assault Macomb's 
position. It was useless to force the Saranac, unless the 
command of the lake was secured. Captain Downie had 
a fleet of one ship of thirty-seven guns, a brig of twenty- 
foui', two sloops each of eleven, and a number of gun- 
boats, in all ninety-five guns and one thousand men. 
Macdonough moored his fleet across the entrance of Platts- 
burg Bay. A strange scene was witnessed on board the 
Saratoga. As the British fleet drew near, Macdonough 
knelt in prayer in the presence of his men, and implored the 
blessing of Heaven upon his country, and especially upon 
those about to engage with him in the coming conflict. 

Downie stood directly into the harbor, reserving his 
fire for a close action, but his largest vessel became so 
disabled that he was obliged to cast anchor a quarter of a 
, ?'■ mile from the American Une. During this time one of 



11. 



o 



his sloops was so cut up as to become unmanageable, and 
drifting within reach, was secured, while the other sloop 
for a similar cause drifted ashore. All the guns on one 
side of Macdonough's largest ship were disabled, but he 
managed to wind her round, and presented a whole side 
and guns to her antagonist. Downie attempted the same 
manoeuvre, but failing he struck his flag ; the entire fleet 
was captured with the exception of a few gun-boats. 

When the battle began on the lake, Prevost advanced 
to storm Macomb's position ; he delayed the main attack 
till a detachment could cross the river above, but before 
that was accomplished, the fleet had surrendered. The 
following night, in the midst of a raging storm, the enemy, 



THE BRITISH FLEET IN THE CHESAPEAKE. 623 

stricken with a sudden panic, commenced their retreat, chap. 

abandoned their sick and wounded, and the greater part of 

their stores. Thus again the navy of the hxke had given 1814. 
a decisive blow. 

Their great number of vessels enabled the British still 
to blockade the ports of the United States, and effectually 
prevent their shijis of war from getting to sea. The Wasp 
was their only one afloat. She was known to have lately 
captured the British sloop-of-war Avon, and subsequently 
three other prizes. All trace of her was now lost ; she 
had gone down, carrying with her the only American flag 
which waved on the ocean from a national vessel. Chesa- 
peake Bay became the favorite rendezvous for the British 
fleet ; its shores atfording great facilities for marauding 
expeditions. As a defence, the gun-boats were of no ser- 
vice, except to make a bold front till the enemy came 
near, and then to run up the creeks, out of harm's way. 

In the waters of the Chesapeake and its tributaries, 
there were now sixty ships of war under the command of 
Admirals Cockburn and Cochrane. On board this fleet 
was a land force of five thousand troops, under General 
Robert Koss. The greatest alarm prevailed in that region 
in consequence of a proclamation, signed by Cochrane, 
which promised to persons desirous of emigrating from the 
United States, employment in the British army and navy, 
or transportation as '^frct settlers" to the West India 
Islands, or to Canada. StiU more alarming was the July 
rumor, based on the proposition of some British ofiicers, ^• 
that the enemy were about to seize the peninsula between 
the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays, and there form and 
drill an army of runaway slaves. 

General Winder, who was appointed to the command 
in the emergency, was authorized to call out fifteen thou- 
sand militia from the neighboring States. This he pro- 
posed to do some weeks before the enemy appeared, and 



624 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

<Lrv ' ^"^ place them in a central position, that they might be 

able to march to the defence of either Washington, Balti- 

1814. more, or Annai^olis, as the case might require. This ju- 
dicious plan was not adopted. Armstrong, the Secretary 
of War, opposed it on the ground that with an emj)ty 
treasury it would be unjustifiable to incur the exijense ; 
and, moreover, he was of the opinion that Washington 
would not be attacked by an enemy who were without 
horses or cannon, and that Baltimore could defend itself 
President Madison seems to have been at a loss what to 
do or advise. In the midst of these discussions the enemy 
appeared, one portion of their fleet coming up the bay, 
and another up the Potomac. 

At this late liour word was sent, not by express, but 
by the tardy mail, to the authorities of Pennsylvania and 
Virginia, asking them to forward their requisition of 
militia. It was now impossible for them to reach the 
scene of action. In the mean time at Benedict, on the 
Patuxent, about fifty miles from Washington, General 
2^S" Boss landed five thousand troops, without meeting the 
least ojiposition from the militia of the neighborhood. 
He commenced his march toward the capital, moving 
very slowly, not more than ten miles a day, the marines, 
for want of horses, dragging their field-j^ieces, only three 
or four. The soldiers were enervated from the effects of 
their voyage, and from the excessive heat of the weather. 
A few spirited troops could have easily checked them. A 
company of armed and trained negroes marched in front, 
cautiously exjjloring the country, and receiving from run- 
away slaves information of the Americans. The soul of 
the enterprise was the notorious Cockburn, who had been 
for a year engaged in pillaging that region. The planters 
■were so much alarmed for their own safety, lest the slaves, 
much more numerous than their masters, should rise in 
insurrection and join the enemy, that they permitted the 
invaders to advance for four days without making the least 



BATTLE OF BLADENSBURG. 625 

opposition. They might have been delayed on their ^^ap. 

march much longer, if trees had been felled at certain 

points where the roads crossed swamps, or if the numerous 1814. 
bridges on the route had been broken down. 

Commodore Barney, who was in command of the 
flotilla of gun-boats, ran them up the Patuxent as far as 
jjossible, then set them on fire, and marched with five 
hundred marines to join the militia concentrating in the 
vicinity of Bladensburg. Here he was put in command -'^"^• 
of some heavy guns brought from the navy yard. The 
President himself, accompanied by his cabinet, visited the 
camp, where all was in confusion. The divisions of 
militia were stationed by General Winder in such posi- 
tions as to support each other, but these had been changed 
by self-constituted officers, who accompanied the Presi- 
dent. It was ascertained that the enemy was moving 
toward Bladensburg. Kumor had magnified their num- 
ber to ten thousand ; all veterans. The discreet militia 
began to retreat, some with permission and some without. 
On learning this General Winder sent orders for them to 
make a stand at the bridge and fight. The village was 
abandoned, and on the other side of the east branch of 
the Potomac the marines and militia were arranged. 
Barney had placed his men in a position to sweep the 
road with the guns. About the middle of the afternoon 
the enemy appeared, but so excessive had been the heat, 
that they were completely exhausted. When Ross re- 
connoitred the militia stationed on the rising ground, he 
was somewhat alarmed at their formidable appearance. 
But he had gone too far to retreat ; the order was given 
to move forward. His alarm was of short continuance. 
A few Congreve rockets put the Maryland militia to flight ; 
the riflemen followed ; the artiUery, after firing not more 
than twice, rapidly retreated ; then the Baltimore regi- 
ment, on which some hopes were placed, fled also, carry- 
ing with them the President and his cabinet. The 24.' 
40 



626 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

'^HAP. British now moved slowly on until they were checked hy 

the guns manned by the marines under Barney. Find- 

1814. ing it impossible to force the 23osition of the marines and 
sailors In front, detachments filed by the right and left 
and passed up ravines. At the head of one was stationed 
the Annapolis regiment, which fled at the first fire. At 
the head of the other ravine were placed some regulars 
and militia ; they also showed their discretion by getting 
out of harm's way as soon as possible. The sailors and 
marines, thus deserted, and in danger of being surrounded, 
retired, their guns and wounded companions falling into 
the hands of the enemy. Owing to the vigorous fire of 
the marines, the British lost a large number of men, and 
others died from fatigue and heat, and it was absolutely 
necessary to wait some hours before they could march on 
Washington. Thus ended the battle of Bladensburg, — 
in one respect the most famous in American annals. 

In the cool of the evening the British advanced into 
Washington, which they found almost entirely deserted 
by its male inhabitants. The enemy proceeded to dis- 
grace themselves by fulfilling the instructions which Ad- 
miral Cochrane had previously officially announced, 
which were "to destroy and lay waste all towns and dis- 
tricts of the United States found accessible to the attack 
of British armaments." They burned the capitol, and with 
it the Congressional Library, and the buildings used for 
the Treasury and State Departments, in revenge, as it was 
said, for the Parliament House at York. Many important 
Aug. papers were lost, but the most valuable had been removed 
^^- some days before. Mrs. Madison had left the President's 
mansion, taking with her the plate and valuables, and also a 
portrait of Washington — which was taken from the frame 
and rolled up. The mansion was pillaged and set on fire, 
as were some private dwellings, and stores were also plun- 
dered. A complete destruction followed at the navy 
yard. 



GENERAL EOSS SLAIN DEFENCE OF FORT M'HENRY. 627 

In the midst of a hostile country, General Eoss, with ™^- 

a handful of exhausted men, was ill at ease. Perhaps he 

had read of Concord and Lexington, and was alarmed 1814. 
lest " the indignant citizen soldieiy " would turn out and 
harass him on his retreat. Early the following night he 
kindled the camp fires, and leaving behind him the sick 
and wounded, he commenced a stealthy retreat to his 
shijis. His alarm was needless ; in a march of four days 
not the least opposition did he experience. Four days 
after the taking of the capital, the British frigates, passing 
by Fort Washington, which ofiered but little resistance, 
came up the Potomac and anchored opposite Alexandria, ^g"' 
which town saved itself from a bombardment by paying 
an enormous tribute. 

When his men were refreshed. General Ross moved 
with the fleet up the Chesapeake, toward Baltimore. The 
militia of Maryland by this time had assembled for the 
defence of the city, and also several companies of volun- 
teers had arrived from Pennsylvania. The enemy, eight 

thousand strong, landed at North Point, at the mouth of Sept. 

.12 
the Patapsco. The land forces commenced their march, 

and the fleet to ascend the river, intending to capture 
Forf- McHenry, situated two miles below the city. An 
advance party of Americans were thrown forward. In a 
skirmish with this party. General Ross was killed, yet the 
invaders pressed on; the militia, after a spirited encounter, 
retired in good order. The next morning the enemy ad- 
vanced, yet hesitatingly, as the neighboring hills were 
covered with soldiers, field works and artillery, which al- 
together made a formidable appearance. They were un- 
der the veteran General Samuel Smith, the same who so 
gallantly defended Fort Miiflin in the Revolution. The 
British hesitated to commence the attack without the co- 
operation of the fleet, which was then busily engaged in 
bombarding Fort McHenry, but without much success, 
as the fort was replying with great spirit. When it was 



628 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

^HAP. ascertained that the fleet could not pass the fort, the in- 

vaders silently retired in the night and re-embarked. 

1814. It was amid the excitement of this cannonade that 

Francis Key composed the popular song of the " Star 
Spangled Banner." He had gone to ask the release of 
certain prisoners, and had been detained during the at- 
tack on board the British fleet. 

From Eastport in Maine to Sandy Hook, the whole 
Eastern coast was liahle to these marauding expeditions. 
One of the most serious of these, was the bombardment 
of Stonington in Connecticut, which continued for four 
days, but after throwing shells and rockets, and several 
attempts to land, the enemy retired. They were repelled 
in every instance hy the sturdy militia. Field works, 
garrisoned by the yeomanry of the country, were thrown 
up at all points along the coast likely to be an object of 
Aug. attack. This was done by the State authorities, the na- 
tional government being so completely enfeebled, as to 
be unable to afi'ord the least aid to any of the States. 

The people of New England, with very few exceptions, 
continued to complain of their grievances. Their dis- 
tress was great ; the embargo, enforced hy severe penalties, 
ruined their fisheries and their coasting trade, and had 
deprived them of many of the necessaries of life. They 
looked upon these restrictions as " more odious and un- 
feelincr than the Boston Port Bill, which roused the colo- 
nies to independence ; a gross and palpable violation of the 
principles of the Constitution, not to he submitted to with- 
out a pusillanimous surrender of their rights and liberties." 

Petitions poured in to the legislature of Massachusetts, 
asking it to take measures to redress these grievances. A 
committee to whom these petitions were referred, reported 
Feb. in terms expressive of the general sentiment of the pe- 
titioners. They believed that the war, so fertile in failures, 
and so threatening as to its results, was uncalled for and 



DEBATES IN CONGRESS — DANIEL WEBSTER. 629 

wrong in principle. They saw in the future the people ™f^- 

impoverished, deprived of their comforts, and their hopes 

blasted. And the committee recommended a conventiou 1814. 
of delegates from the commercial States, to obtain amend- 
ments to the constitution that would secure them against 
such evils. 

These manifestations of discontent had their effect, 
and the President himself proposed the abandonment of 
the restrictive system, not only the embargo, but the non- 
importation act. In order to encourage domestic manu- Mar. 
factures, instead of the latter he recommended that for 
three years after the close of the war double duties be 
imposed upon imported goods, and that the exportation 
of specie be prohibited. 

The advocates of the war in Congress, annoyed at the 
failures of the last two years, attributed their want of 
success to the influence of those opposed to the war ; in- 
stead of acknowledging their own imprudence, in thus 
rushing, without preparation, into hostilities, or ceasing to 
be infatuated with the idea of conquering Canada. In 
the discussion on a bill to procure enlistments for the 
army, Daniel Webster in reply to these charges, no 
doubt expressed the general sentiment of those opposed 
to the war. In those sections of the country where the 
population was most numerous, the war was unpopular 
because of its impolicy ; — it was no detraction from their 
patriotism that they did not join heart and hand in 
measures which they deemed the extreme of folly. He 
continued, — " Give up your futile projects of invasion. 
Extinguish the fires which blaze on your inland frontiers. 
Establish perfect safety and defence there by adequate 
force. Let every man that sleeps on your soil sleep in 
security. Having performed this work of beneficence and 
mercy on your inland border, turn and look with the eye 
of justice and compassion on your vast population along 
the coast. Unclench the iron grasp of your embargo. Take 



630 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, measures for that end before another sun sets upon you. 
With all the war of the enemy upon your commerce, if 



1814 you would cease to make war upon it yourselves, you 
would still have some commerce. That commerce would 
give you some revenue. Apply that revenue to the aug- 
mentation of your navy. Let it no longer be said, that 
not one ship of force, built by your hands since the war, 
yet floats upon the ocean. If the war must continue, go 
to the ocean. If you are seriously contending for mari- 
time rights, go to the theatre where alone those rights can 
be defended. Thither, every indication of your fortxme 
points you. There the united wishes and exertions of 
the nation will go with you. Even our party divisions, 
acrimonious as they are, cease at the water's edge. They 
are lost in attachment to the national character, on the 
element where that character is made resjjectable. In 
time you may be able to redress injuries in the place 
where they may be ofi'ered ; and, if need be, to accompany 
your own flag throughout the world with the protection 
of your own cannon." 

The embargo and non-importation act were repealed, 
while action on the other recommendations of the Presi- 
dent was postponed. 

The delegates to the convention recommended by the 
legislature of Massachusetts, met upon the appointed day 

Dec. at Hartford. In accordance with the sentiments express- 
ed in the call for the convention, the members were en- 
joined not to propose measures " repugnant to their obli- 
gations, as members of the Union." They met in a time 
of trial and distress to confer with each other on the best 
means to relievo the country of a ruinous war, and secure 
the blessings of a permanent peace. The Convention, 
consisting of but twenty-six members, sat with closed 
doors. After a session of twenty days it adjourned, and, 
as the result of their deliberations, published an address 
to the people. The address disappointed the more violent 



THE HAETFORD CONVENTION. 631 

opponents of the war, who thought the occasion demanded chap. 
more decided measures. The President and his cabinet 



had been much alarmed ; in the Convention, they imagin- 1814. 
ed lurked some terrible plot of treason ; they breathed 
more freely when they read this address and the resolutions. 

After recapitidating the evils which the war had 
brought upon the people whom they represented, they ex- 
pressed their sentiments upon other wrongs ; such as the 
enlistment of minors and apprentices ; the national gov- 
ernment assuming to command the State militia ; and 
especially the proposed system of conscription for both 
army and navy. " Strange propositions for a government 
professedly waging war to protect its seamen from im- 
pressment ! " " The conscription of the father with the 
seduction of the son, renders complete the power of the 
national executive over the male population of the coun- 
try, thus destroying the most important relations of 
society." 

" A free constitution administered by great and in- 
comparable statesmen realized the fondest hopes of liberty 
and independence, under Washington and his measures. 
The arts flourished, the comforts of life were universally 
diffused, nothing remained but to rcaj) the advantages 
and cherish the resources flowing from this policy." 

" Our object is to strengthen and jierpetuate the union 
of these States, by removing the causes of jealousies." 

In furtherance of these views they proposed amend- 
ments to the Constitution ; among others, to equalize the 
representation in the lower House of Congress, by basing it 
on free population ; against embargoes and non-intercourse 
laws ; to make the President ineligible for a second term. 
These amendments were never adopted by the States. 
The existence of the Convention showed the intense feel- 
ing on the subject of the war and its consequences, and 
its deliberations exhibit no other spirit than that of wish- 
ing to redress grievances by constitutional means. 



632 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. Shortly after the adjournment of the Convention, the 
legislatures of Massachusetts and Connecticut, viewing 

1814. the law of Congress which authorized the enlistment of 
minors and apprentices, as a violation of their rights and 
unconstitutional, passed laws that subjected the recruiting 
officers to fine and imprisonment ; and required the State 
judges to release any such minor or apprentice on ajipli- 
cation of the parent or guardian. Fortunately the war 
was soon after brought to a close, and the necessity for 
enlistments under this oppressive and demoralizing law, 
was removed. 






CHAPTEK XLV. 

MADISON'S ADMINISTRATION— CONCLUDED. 

Jackson enters Pensacola. — New Orleans defenceless.- — The British land. — 
Jackson's Measures of Defence. — Battle of New Orleans. — The Distress 
of the Country and Embarrassment of the Government. — The Relief. — 
Treaty of Peace. — The Frigate President captured.— Successes at Sea. 
— War with Algiers. — Treaty with that Power.— Treaty with the In- 
dians. — Financial Disorders. — State of Indiana. — John Fitch. — Robert 
Fulton. — First Steamboat. 

When arranging affairs with the Creeks, General chap. 
Jackson learned that the Spaniards at Pensacola had 



welcomed the hostUe Indians, and also that a British 1814. 
man-of-war had furnished them with arms. Intelhgence 
of this was sent to Washington, whence orders were trans- 
mitted to Jackson to seize Pensacola. That these orders 
were six months on the way, may illustrate the efficiency 
with which the War Department was conducted. Mean- 
time some British men-of-war arrived in the harbor, from 
which a Colonel Nichols landed men and began to enlist 
the Creeks. Jackson now sent urgent appeals to his 
favorite Tennessee mounted men to hasten to his aid. 
The British soon after attacked Fort Bowyer on the east 
shore of Mobile Bay. The fort was defended by one 
hundred and thirty men, under Major Lawrence. The 
vigorous defence soon repulsed the enemy, one of whose 
ships blew up and the rest were fiiin to depart. This 
success encouraged the people of Louisiana and Missis- 
sippi in their efforts to defend New Orleans themselves, 



634 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CT^. without depending upon the General Government. Jack- 
son wrote repeatedly to Washington for orders and re- 



1814. ceived none, but when the three thousand Tennesseans, 
under General Coffee, arrived, he took the responsibility 
to enter Pensacola and demand that the British should 

^ov leave the place. He also intimated in emphatic terms to 
the Spanish governor, that he would hold him responsible 
for permitting the British to occupy his territory, for the 
purpose of encouraging the Creeks in their hostility. The 
British immediately blew up a fort which they had erected 
seven miles below the town, and took to their ships. 
8. Confident that the enemy designed to direct their 

efforts against New Orleans, Jackson sent in advance 
General Coffee to some point on the Mississippi, with the 
mounted men, while he himself followed, as soon as cir- 
cumstances would permit. The defences of New Orleans 
were in a deplorable condition ; since Wilkinson left, 
nothing further had been done to repair them. The city 
contained nearly twenty thousand inhabitants, not one- 
half of whom were whites. Tliese were principally of 
French origin, and others of foreign birth, none of whom 
were ardently attached to the United States. Jackson 
hastened to the point of danger. He availed himself of 
every possible aid ; he released the convicts in the prisons, 
and enrolled them for the occasion ; accepted the offered 
services of Lafitte, the head of the Baratarian buccaneers. 
He also issued an address to " the noble-hearted, gener- 
ous, free men of color," to enroll themselves for the de- 
fence of their country. To this call, under an act of the 
Louisiana Legislature, they heartily responded. 

While he was thus unprepared, the British fleet cast 
anchor off the entrance of Lake Borgne. It had on board 
twelve thousand land troops, besides four thousand sailors 
and marines. These troops had recently been under the 
Duke of WelHngton, in the Peninsular war, and were 
commanded by able and experienced generals ; Sir Ed- 



I 

i 



Jackson's preparations — conflicts. 635 

ward Packingham, a brotlier-in-law of the Duke of Wei- chm'. 

lington, Gibbs, Keene, and Lambert. Three days later, . 

after a severe contest, they captured the euthe American ISU. 
flotilla on Lake Borgne. 

The Louisiana militia were immediately called out, 
but they were ill supislied with arms. Some months pre- 
vious, Jackson, anticipating this very emergency, had 
urged upon the War Department at Washington to send 
a supply of arms from the arsenal at Pittsburg. The 
government agent, unwilling to pay the usual freight on 
the only steamboat then running to New Orleans, shipped 
the arms on board keel boats. Thus twenty-five cents on 
a hundred pounds of freight were saved by the govern- 
ment, and Jackson received the muskets after the battle ! 

General Coffee had reached Baton Eouge, at which 
place he received orders to hasten with all speed to the 
scene of action. With eight hundred of his best mounted 
men — aU unerring marksmen, armed with rifles and toma- 
hawks — lie made the extraordinary march of one hundred 
and fifty miles in two days. Thus, by similar exertions, 
in the space of a fortnight, Jackson had five thousand 

men, four-fifths of whom were militia. Other difficulties Dec. 

. . 20. 

presented themselves. Owing to the want of co-operation 

on the part of the legislature, and the necessities of the 

times, he proclaimed martial law. 

The enemy landed two thousand light armed troops, 
under General Keene. Jackson marched to meet them 
with the regulars, and Coffee's men dismounted. Soon 
after dark the battle began ; the enemy were driven from 
one point to another, till finally they found protection ^J'°- 
behind a levee. Good service was done in tliis conflict 
by the armed schooner Carolina, which ran in near the 
shore, and with her guns swept their ranks. This success- 
ful repulse of the invaders greatly encouraged the Ameri- 
cans. 

The next day Jackson took a position on solid ground 



636 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, nearly a mile in treadth ; the river protecting one flank, 
and a swamp the other. Though strongly reinforced, the 



1815. British made no attempt the following day to retrieve 
what they had lost, being deterred by the reports of 
prisoners, who greatly exaggerated the strength of Jack- 
fion's force. This delay was profitably occupied in 
strengthening the defences ; bales of cotton were used as 
a rampart, and the ditch was extended to the swamp. 
Five days after the enemy advanced and drove in the 
American outposts, and when within half a mile of the 
ramparts opened with artillery and Congreve rockets. 
Yet Jackson replied with so much vigor, with his five 
heavy gxins, that after a cannonade of seven hours the 
enemy withdrew, having suffered considerable loss. 

"Within three days after this repulse, they made 
•Jan. another attack with much heavier artillery. Their move- 
ments were concealed by a dense fog, and the intimation 
of their approach was given only by their cannon balls 
crashing through the American camp, but Jackson had 
so strengthened his works, that the British — their guns 
dismounted and silenced — were again compelled to retire ; 
but it was to make preparations for a grand assault. 

Presently twenty-two hundred Kentucky riflemen 

Jan. arrived ; of whom unfortunately one-half were without 

arms, and could not be supplied. These Jackson placed 

to throw up a second line of intrenchments in the rear of 

the first line. 

When prepared, the British moved to the assault, 
under the cover of a battery of six eighteen-pounders, 
which had been erected the previous night. The main 
Jan. column was led by Packenham in person, intending to 
storm the centre, one column moved along the river and 
carried a redoubt, another, led by Gibbs and Keene, ad- 
vanced along the edge of the swamp. 

As the advancing columns came within range, the 
American artillery opened upon them with deadly effect, 



BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. 637 

yet they filled up their ranks and moved steadily on. ^^,^- 

Presently they readied the range of the Kentucky and 

Tennessee rifles, they poured in a continuous stream of 1815. 
luierring bullets. The heads of the columns faltered. 
While endeavoring to rally them, Packenham fell ; Keene 
and Gibbs were both wounded, the latter mortally. The 
command then devolved on General Lambert, who made 
two more unsuccessful attempts to storm the works, but 
was forced to retire, leaving on the field two thousand 
men killed and wounded. Jackson had taken the pre- 
caution to send General Morgan across the river to throw 
up intrenchments directly opposite his own. The night 
previous to the battle, Packenham sent a detachment 
under Colonel Thornton, who drove Morgan from his 
position, but when the main body was defeated he took 
to his boats and hastily retreated. 

In this battle the Americans lost seven men killed and 
as many wounded. 

Taking eveiy precaution to guard against surprise, 
Lambert gradually feU back to the first landing place, 
and then, in the course of twenty days, re-embarked. 

Thus virtually ended the war of 1812. The only 
battles well fought on land, were those directed by new 
men called into active service by the war itself. The 
victories at Lundy's Lane and New Orleans were gained 
by soldiers who had been trained but a short time, but 
they were under commanders in whom they had implicit 
confidence. 

Though these successful events were transpiring in 
that distant region, yet on the Atlantic coast, and at 
Washington, it was the gloomiest period of the war. 
Atfairs were almost desperate. The treasuiy exhausted, 
the national credit gone, the terrible law of conscrijjtion, 
like an ominous cloud hanging over the people, civil dis- 
cord seemingly ready to spring up between the States ; 



638 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

So^' ^^^ coasts of South Carolina and Georgia yet subject to 

. the marauding exiieditions of the infamous Cockburn, 

1815. while the inhabitants were crying in vain to the General 
Government for assistance. Nothing favorable had yet 
been heard from the commissioners of peace at Ghent, 
nor even from New Orleans. It was known that a very 
large force of British veterans was in the vicinity of that 
place, and that Jackson was very ill-prepared to meet them. 
As a gleam of sunshine in intense darkness, a rumor, 
by way of Canada, jaroclaimed that peace had been con- 
cluded ; at the same time came another from the south- 
west that the enemy had been defeated. While all were 
tremblingly anxious for the truth of these rumors, late of 
a Saturday night, a British sloop-of-war, the Favorite, 
commissioned for the purpose, arrived at New York, 
^'^^- bringing tlie treaty of jDcace, already ratified by the 
British government. The cry of peace ! peace ! ran 
through the city. As if by one impulse the houses were 
illuminated, and the citizens, without distinction of party, 
thronged the streets to congratulate each other. In 
the midst of their own rejoicings they did not forget their 
brethren who were yet ignorant of the welcome news, and 
messengers were sent in every direction. In thirty-two 
hours, the express with the tidings reached Boston. 
There the excitement was almost unbounded. The 
people assembled in crowds to hear the news, which had 
so unexpectedly brought relief to their distresses. The 
bells rang their merriest peal, and the schools received a 
holiday. Flags and streamers were soon disj^layed on the 
vessels which had lain so long idle at the wharf Before 
night, carpenters and riggers were at work, sailors were 
engaged, cargoes were passing on board ; Boston was her- 
self again in commercial activity. The reception of the 
news was followed by similar rejoicings all along the coast, 
and throughout the country. To add still more to the 
happiness, as well as the gratification of the nation, in a 



THANKSGIVINGS — THE FRIGATE PRESIDENT CAPTURED. 639 

few days was confirmed the rumor of the total defeat of ™£^- 
the British before New Orleans. 



The Senate unanimously ratified the treaty within 1815. 
thirty hours after it was laid before them. The President 
sjieedily issued a proclamation, announcing the fact, that 
once more peace reigned throughout the land. A day for Feb. 
thanksgiving to Almighty God for the blessing, was ob- 
served by the nation. 

The treaty provided for the mutual restoration of all 
places taken during the war ; also for determining the 
northern boundary, and other matters of minor importance 
were amicably arranged. But not a word was said on the 
impressment question, for the settlement of which the 
war had ostensibly been continued after the first two 
months. Both parties seem to have been heartily tired 
of fighting ; though Great Britain wished to restrain 
what she thought an alarming grasping spirit in the New 
Kepublic, as e\'idenced in the acquisition of Louisiana and 
the attempts on Canada. 

A few days after the ratification of the treaty, the 
President recommended to Congress the passage of a law 
to guard against incidents which, during the periods of war 
in Europe, might tend to interrupt peace, enjoining that 
" American vessels be navigated exclusively by American 
seamen, either natives or such as are already naturalized," 
thus endeavoring to gain by legislation what could not be 
obtained by war. Yet one object had been secured — we 
hear no more of the impressment of American seamen. 

Previous to the announcement of peace, the command- 
ers of some of the national vessels determined to evade the 
blockading enemy and escape to sea. Commodore De- Jan. 
catur, on board the frigate President, commanding the ^^• 
sloops Hornet and Peacock to follow, attempted to evade 
the blockade of the port of New York. Passing out in 
the night, after being imfortunately aground for some 



640 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, hours, in the morning he fell in with the British squadron, 
1 by whom he was chased. One of the enemy, the frigate 

1815. Endymion, commenced an engagement, hut after a run- 
ning fight, she was effectually disabled, and fain to haul 
off. The President unfortunately was also crijjpled, and 
the other British vessels coming up, Decatur was com- 
pelled to strike his colors. 

A few days after, the Hornet and Peacock avoided the 
blockade, and proceeded to their rendezvous, off the Cape 
of Good Hope. On her way the Hornet, Captain Biddle, 

Miir. fell in with and captured the British brig Penguin. The 
latter was made a complete wreck, and as such was set on 
fire. The Peacock joined her consort, and in company 
they sailed to the Indian Ocean. The Hornet was soon 
after chased by a British seventy-four, and in order to 
escape, she was compelled to throw her guns and nearly 
all her armament overboard, in which condition she re- 
turned to New York. The Peacock, Captain Warring- 

june ton, continued on to the East Indies, where she captured 

30. the cruiser Nautilus. 

The Constitution, Captain Stewart, also evaded the 
blockade off Boston harlior. On a moonlight night she 
fell in with two war vessels off' the port of Lisbon. They 
prepared to engage, but the Constitution manoeuvred to 
keep the wind at about an equal distance from her an- 

Feb. tagonists. Captain Stewart, seizing a favorable ojjpor- 
20- tunity, directed aU his force upon the vessel nearest, 
which almost immediately struck ; then he captured the 
other in a similar manner. The prizes proved to be the 
British sloops-of-war Cyane and Levant. These captures 
were all made after the articles of peace were signed. 

Soon after the commencement of the war with Britain, 
the Dey of Algiers, thinking the Americans would have 
no means of punishing him, renewed his old practice of 
piracy. Pretending to be dissatisfied with the presents 
he had received from the American government, he dis- 



COMMODORE DECATUK HUMBLES THE DET OF ALGIERS. 641 

missed Lear, the consul, threatening to reduce him and chap. 

his family, and all the Americans in Algiers, to slavery, a J 1 

fate which Lear escaped by paying a large ransom. Some 1815. 
American vessels were afterward seized by the pirates, and 
their crews reduced to slavery. 

Two months after the conclusion of peace, an Ameri- 
can squadron, under Decatur, consisting of three large 
frigates and seven other vessels of war, sailed for the 
Mediterranean. Six weeks later, Bainbridge followed Mav. 
with the Independence, the new seventy-four, accompanied 
by other war vessels ; on the way he was also joined by 
the Congress frigate. But before his arrival in the Medi- 
terranean, the energetic Decatur had brought the Dey 
to terms. On the second day after passing through the 
Straits of Gibraltar, he fell in with the largest frigate of 
the Dey under his high Admiral, on a cruise for Ameri- 
can merchantmen. After a fight of less than thirty 
minutes the Algerine was captured ; two days after 
another cruiser shared a similar fate. When the squadron 
appeared before Algiers, the intelligence of these disasters, 
by which he had lost his best ship, and six hundred men, 
had greatly humbled the Dey. To escape a worse pun- 
ishment, he gladly submitted to the indignity of signing, 
on Decatur's quarter-deck, a humiliating treaty. He Jnno 
bound liimself to make indemnities for his extortions ; to 
surrender all his prisoners without ransom, and to re- 
aounce all claim for tribute from the American govern- 
ment, as well as his barbaroi;s practice of piracy and re- 
ducing prisoners to slavery. 

Decatur proceeded immediately to Tunis and Tripoli, 
where he demanded and received indemnity for some 
American vessels, at whose captures, in their harbors, by 
the English, they had connived. Thus, in a few weeks, 
these barbarians were taught a lesson which they have not 
yet forgotten. When Bainbridge arrived, he found all 
the difiicidties arranged. The united navy, consisting of 
41 



642 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

^W^- fourteen vessels, visited tlie principal ports of the Medi- 

terranean. Their victories over the mistress of the ocean, 

1815. secured them treatment manifesting high respect. 

The autumn following the close of the war, a great 

council of the North-western Indian trihes was held, at 

which they made peace with each other. Afterward they 

all made peace with the United States. Thus apprehen- 

Sept. sions of future Indian hostilities were removed. 

The war left the finances of the country in a very 
confused state. The banks in existence, exceiat those in 
New England, were unable to redeem their notes in specie, 
and confidence in their promises to pay was wanting. The 
national debt, in consequence of the war, was known to be 
more than one hundred millions of doUars. In order to 
remove some of the burdens resting upon the people, the 
Secretary of the Treasury, A. J. Dallas, proposed to remit 
some of the internal taxes, which had been levied during 
the last few years. Instead of which he advised the im- 
position of duties on imports, not merely to secure a revenue, 
but also to protect the manufactures which had sprung 
into existence during the war. The President likewise, in 
liis annual message, urged the adoption of such a poHcy. 

To aid in rectifying the financial disorders in the 
1817. country, Congress chartered, for twenty years, a National 
^j"*- Bank, with a capital of thirty-five millions of dollars. It 
commenced oi^erations at Philadelj^hia, and, in connection 
with its branches in other States, afforded the people a uni- 
form currency redeemable at all times with gold and silver. 

A bill designed to compel the local banks to paj- 
specie was passed, ordering that aU dues to the government 
should be paid in gold and silver, or " in treasury notes, 
notes of the Bank of the United States, or in notes of banks 
payable and paid on demand in specie." 

The Territory of Indiana having adopted a constitu- 
Sept. tion, presented herself for admission into the Union, and 
was received. 



FITCH — FULTON THE FIRST STEAMBOAT. 643 

JoLn Fitch, an uneducated watchmaker of Philadel- C|i^- 

phia, conceived the design of propelling boats by steam. 

He applied to Congress for assistance, but, unfortunately, 1785. 
was refused ; then, with a similar result, he applied to the 
Spanish authorities of Louisiana. Some years later he 
found means to construct a boat, and to make a trial trip 
on the Delaware. The boat went at the rate of eight 
miles an hour, but unfortunately the boiler exploded. One 
disaster followed another, and poor John Fitch died, the 
victim of disappointment, but full of faith that others 
would yet perfect his invention : he desired to be buried 
on the banks of the Ohio, that boats propelled by steam 
might pass near his last resting place. In less than 
twenty years after his death the steamer Clermont passed 
up the Hudson from New York to Albany. 1807, 

The Clermont was the work of Kobert Fulton, a native 
of Pennsylvania, once a pupil of West, the painter. He 
had a decided turn for mechanics, and had studied the sub- 
ject many years in Europe, where he received pecuniary 
aid and encouragement from Robert E. Livingston, then 
American minister at Paris. 

To American enterprise is due the honor of launching 
the first steamboat and the first Ocean steamer — the 
Savannah — that crossed the Atlantic. She left New York, 1818. 
went to Savannah, and thence to Europe, where she was 
an object of great interest. Twenty years later the -^P^il 
British steamer Great Western came to New York in 
fourteen days. 

Madison's Administration, so full of important events, 
drew to a close. James Monroe, also from Virginia, had 
been elected his successor, and Daniel D. Tompkins, of 
New York, Vice-President. The latter had been Governor 
of that State, and in that capacity been most efficient 
in aiding the country in the war just closed. At one time 
he sustained the garrison of the city by his own private 
credit. 



CHAPTER XLVI. 

MONROE'S ADMINISTRATION. 

A Return to the earlier Policy of the Government. — The President's Tour 
in the Eastern States. — The Colonization Society. — Revolutions in the 
Spanish Colonies. — Indian War ; the Semiuolcs. — General Jackson in 
the Field. — Purchase of Florida. — The Missouri Compromise. — Manu- 
factures. — Increase of Tariff. — Visit of Lafayette. 

CHAP. Since the close of the war, party distinctions were fast 

J ^ losing their influence. In the minds of the great majority 

1817. of the people, names were giving place to ideas. The na- 
tion was prepared for the quiet revival of the leading prin- 
ciples of Washington's administration. The people had 
not in so many words thus formally decided; — ^but to return 
to the policy of the earher days of the Grovemment seemed 
the only means to remedy existing evils, and to guard 
against their recurrence in the future. This may be said 
in relation to the revenue as arising from commerce, the 
finances, the policy toward foreign nations, and in the 
means of national defence both by sea and land. 
Mar. ipjjg jjg^ President in his inaugural fuUy indorsed these 

doctrines, and they were echoed and re-echoed tlu-oughout 
the land as the true policy, while some of the old Eepub- 
licans characterized them as being veritable Federalism 
under another name. The President pointed to th6 ex- 
perience of the nation in the last struggle, and unhesi- 
tatingly advised not only fortifications on the coast with 
garrisons, but a navy strong enough to maintain the dig- 



THE president's TOUR COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 645 

nity and neutrality of the United States, as well as pro- chap. 

tect commerce ; he also recommended that a knowledge 

of naval and military science should be kept up. In ad- 1817. 
dition, that domestic manufactures be protected by im- 
posts on foreign merchandise, and also, internal improve- • 
ments be aided by the national government, if such ex- 
penditure was in accordance with the spirit of the Con- 
stitution. 

Though professing to be much gratified that the party 
spirit lately so rampant was allayed, the President took 
good care to appoint none but his most devoted adherents 
to the offices within his gift. John Quincy Adams was 
recalled from the court of St. James to become Secretary 
of State. The other members of his cabinet were Wil- 
Ham H. Crawford of Georgia, Secretary of the Treasury ; 
Crowningshield of Massachusetts, Secretary of the Navy ; 
John C. Calhoun, Secretary of War, and William Wirt, 
Attorney-General. 

The President, some months after his inauguration, 
made a tour through the Eastern States. The sentiments 
of his address had become diffused, and prepared the way 
for his receiving a warm reception in the Federal town of 
Boston, and throughout New England generally. It was 
enthusiastically proclaimed that the people were once 
more to be harmonious in their views of national policy. 

During the following session of Congress the American 
Colonization Society was formed at Washington. It was 
designed to provide a home beyond the limits of the 
United States for the free people of color who should de- 
sire to emigrate. The condition of these people in the 
slaveholding States, as well as the laws in some of the 
others, that forbade their settling within their borders, led 
to the formation of the Society. The enterprise was 
ardently advocated by Henry Clay, Judge Washington, 
John Eandolph, and other southern statesmen. This So- 



646 HISTOBT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

XLVi ^^^^y established the uow flourishing Colony of Liberia on 
the west coast of Africa. 



1817. 



The influence of the Kevolution had not been without 
efi'ect upon other nations. The Spanish colonies of South 
America threw ofi" their allegiance to the mother country, 
and declared themselves independent. Under the pre- 
tence of having commissions from these new Eepublics, 
a company of adventurers, jjrincipally drawn from Charles- 
ton and Savannah, seized Amelia Island, ofl' the harbor 
of St. Augustine. These worthies soon began to smuggle 
merchandise and slaves into the United States. Yet, as 
a cloak to their deeds, they proclaimed they were block- 
ading the port of St. Augustine. A similar haunt for 
buccaneers had existed for some time at Galveston in 
Texas. Both these establishments were broken up by 
order of the United States Government. 

The condition of the South American republics excited 
great sympathy in the minds of the people. Some were 
advocates for giving them aid, while others were anxious 
that Congress should, at least, acknowledge their independ- 
ence. In defiance of the President's proclamation to the 
contrary, cruisers, bearing the flag of these Republics, were 
fitted out in some of the ports of the United States to 
prey upon Spanish commerce. 

These difficulties, combined with other causes, led to 
a new Indian war in the South. Numbers of Seminoles, 
refugee Creeks, and runaway negroes, living in the Span- 
ish Territory, south of Flint river, began to pillage the 
Georgia settlements north of that river. General Gaines, 
who was in command at the nearest fort, demanded that 
these murderers and robbers should be given up. The 
Indians refused, on the ground that they were not the ag- 
gressors. Soon after a collision occurred, in which several 
Nov. Indians were killed. Their death was terribly revenged 
^•^^ upon the people on board a boat ascending the Apalachi- 



5 
i 



I 



JACKSON SUBDUES THE INDIANS — PURCHASE OF FLORIDA. 647 

cola, with sui:)plies for Fort Scott. More than forty per- ^^^^■ 

sons, consisting of men, women, and children, were mas- 

sacred. The War Department ordered General Jackson 1817. 
to invade the Indian Territory, and "hring the war to a 
speedy and effectual close." In three mouths he was on 
the ground, with an army composed of Georgians and 
Tennesseeans. He moved to the vicinity of where Talla- 
hassee now stands ; the savages made little resistance, hut 
abandoned their towns, and their cattle and grain. With 
his usual energy, Jackson pressed on, and, without cere- 
mony, seized St. Mark's, on Appalachee Bay, the only Mar. 
Spanish fort in that part of Florida, on the ground that 
its officers were aiding and abetting the Indians in their 
hostilities to the United States. One of the American 
armed vessels on the coast hoisted British colors, and two 
of the hostile Creek cliiefs were decoyed on board. These 
chiefs Jackson unceremoniously hanged. On one of the April, 
incursions against the enemy, two British subjects, Robert 
C. Ambrister and Alexander Arbuthnot, traders among 
the Indians, were taken prisoners. These two men were 
put on trial for their lives before a court-martial, on the 
charge of aiding the Indians. They were found guilty 
and sentenced to death, and immediately executed. The 
measure was much censured as unnecessary and unwar- 
ranted. Notwithstanding the protest of the Spanish 
governor against his invasion of Florida, Jackson soon ap- 
peared before Pensacola, which place surrendered. The 
governor in the mean time fled to a fort further down the Mnj-. 
bay, and finally to Havana. 

These arbitrary proceedings were protested against by 
Don Onis, the Spanish Minister at Washington. The 
matter however was not pressed, as negotiations were soon 
after entered upon to jDurchase the territory in dispute. 

American citizens had claims amounting to five mil- 
lions of dollars against the Spanish government. Don 
Onis received instructions from home, that authorized 



648 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, him to cede Florida to tlie United States for these claims. 

The purchase was thus made, the American Government 

1821. assuming the debt. Two years later Spain ratified the 
Treaty. Florida was then organized as a Territory, and 
General Jackson was appointed its first Governor. 

The American people have never been indifferent to 
the political as well as the moral aspects of slavery. 
From the adoption of the Constitution till the time of 
which we write, the conscience and the sympathy of the 
religious portion of the nation, both North and South, 
found their expression on the subject in memorials ad- 
dressed to their ecclesiastical assemblies, whose resolutions 
in reply condemned the system. 

1787. The Continental Congress legislated specially on the 

subject in adopting the ordinance by which the region 
north of the Ohio and east of the Mississippi was conse- 

1790. crated to freedom. During the second session of the First 
Congress, petitions were presented to that body, praying 
it to take measures to free the nation of the system. The 
committee to whom these memorials were referred, re- 
ported that Congress was not authorized by the Constitu- 
tion to interfere with slavery as existing in the individual 
States. In accordance with this view, that body has ever 
acted, when disposing of the numerous memorials on the 
subject that have, from time to time, been presented to it. 
The Northern States, for a quarter of a century, had 
been gradually freeing themselves of the institution, or 
making jn-ovisiou to that effect, while in the Southern 
States a different sentiment had been on the increase. 
The acquisition of Louisiana had given to them a vast 
region in which .slave labor was profitable, especially in 
the cultivation of cotton. These antagonist opinions 
were suddenly brought into collision, and a strong sectional 

\?^,^' feeling was elicited. 

r CO. 

16. The territory of Missouri asked permission to form a 






DEBATES ON THE EESTEICTION OF SLAVERY. 649 

constitution, preparatory to her admission into the Union S^^^- 
as a State. When the question was before tlie House of 



Kepresentatives, James W. Tallmadge, a member from 1819. 
New York, proposed to insert a clause, prohibiting the 
further introduction of slaves into the territory, and also 
another clause granting freedom to the children of slaves 
already there, when they should attain the age of twenty- 
five years. 

After a spirited debate both these propositions were 
adopted. The day following the passage of this bill came . 
up a similar one to organize the Territory of Arkansas. 
This bill, after a strenuous effort to insert similar clauses, 
was finally passed without any restriction as to slavery. 

The States admitted into the Union, since the adop- 
tion of the Constitution, had happened to come in alter- 
nately as non-slaveholding, and as slaveholding — Vermont 
and Kentucky ; Tennessee and Ohio ; Louisiana and In- 
diana ; Mississippi and Illinois. As Alabama had ap- 
plied for admission as a slave State, it was urged that 
Missouri should be admitted as free. This proposition 
soon lost its force by the application of Maine, the north- 
eastern part of Massachusetts, presenting herself to be 
admitted as a free State. Here was an offset to Alabama, 
leaving Missouri to make the next slave State. 

In the consideration of these bills the subject of 
slavery restriction in the territories came up for discussion. 
The members from the Southern States insisted that any 
restriction upon Missouri would violate the pledge given 
to the inhabitants of Louisiana, at the time of its pur- 
chase, that they should enjoy " all the privileges of citi- 
zens of the United States ; " that such a restriction 
would eventually interfere with State rights ; that the 
citizens of slaveholding States had the right to take their 
property into the territories of the Union. It was urged 
that it would be an act of humanity and a blessing to 
the poor slave, whose lot was so hard in the old exhausted 



650 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

^•^P- States, to transfer him to the fertile plains of the west ; 
. that this would only he the diffusion of the system, but 



1819. not its extension, as the number of slaves would not be 
increased thereby ; and that the i^rohibition of slavery 
would diminish emigration from the South into the ter- 
ritories. 

To these arguments it was replied : it was true that 
Congress was forbidden by the Constitution to interfere 
with slavery in the original thirteen States, but that this 
did not apply to the territories. They were the property 
of the Union, and Congress had the control of their or- 
ganization. Would Congress be justified in spreading 
over them an institution which even its advocates on the 
floor of the house had again and again deplored as an evil ? 

It was contended that slave labor and free labor could 
not coexist on the same soil ; and should the introduction 
of a few thousands of slaves exclude millions of freemen 
from the territories ? ' 

The debate was conducted with great animation, 
mingled with much bitterness, and threats to dissolve the 
Union. The intense excitement was not limited to the 
National Legislature ; it extended throughout the country, 
and it was by no means diminished by the speeches made 
on the subject on the floor of Congress, nor by the fact, 
which the discussion revealed, that during the previous 
year more than fourteen thousand slaves had been smug- 
gled into the United States, from Africa and the West 
Indies. 

The legislatures of some of the Northern States ex- 
pressed their wish that slavery should not go beyond the 
Mississippi, while the people held conventions and me- 
morialized Congress. Opposite views were as strongly 
expressed by some of the Southern States. Thus the 
country was agitated for nearly two years, and the difii- 

' The Debates in Congress, Nilcs's Register, Vols 16, IV, and 18. 



THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE. 651 

ciUty was still unsettled. When the bill came before the chap. 
Senate, Jesse B. Thomas of Illinois moved as an amend- 



ment, a clause forbidding the introduction of slavery into 1820. 
the Louisiana Territory north of thirty-six degrees and 
thirty minutes north latitude, and west of the proposed 
State of Missouri. This was the line of the famous Mis- 
souri Compromise. The House, however, would not at 
first agree to this arrangement ; but finally, through means 
of a committee of conference, Maine was admitted, and 
Missouri, on these conditions, after she should adopt a 
constitution. 

The following year, when the constitution of Missouri 
was presented to Congress, it was found to contain a 
clause that prohibited free people of color from settling in 
the State. Though this clause " was adopted for the 
sake of peace — for the sake of internal tranquillity — and to 
prevent the agitation of the slave question," ■ yet it was 
viewed far difi'erently in Congress, and was the occasion 
of opening the restriction question with all its bitterness. 
The insertion of the offensive clause, under the circum- 
stances, seemed to manifest as little regard for the Consti- 
tution of the United States, as respect for the opinions of 
those opposed to the extension of slavery. The citizens 
of any one State were, by the Constitution, entitled to 
the privileges of citizens in the other States. Free people 
of color were thus recognized in some of the States, but 
by this clause they were deprived of their rights. Another 
committee of conference, of which Henry Clay was the 
prime mover, was appointed by the Senate and House of 
Kepresentatives. The difficulty was again compromised 
by which Missouri was to be admitted on the express con- 
dition that she would expunge the obnoxious clause, and 
then the President was authorized to admit her by procla- 
mation. The Missouri Legislature complied, and the fact 

' Benton's Thii-ty Years' View, Vol. i. p. 8. 



652 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, -was communicated to the President, who proclaimed her 
admission to the family of States. Thus the slavery agi- 

1821. tation was allayed for a time, but the same question, 
"^" under different phases, has returned again and again, and 
will no doubt continue thus to do till the conscience of 
the nation is fully satisfied on the subject — for questions 
involving the moral and political relations of so many mil- 
lions cannot be lightly passed over. 

A new interest was awakened in behalf of the South 
American Eepublics. Great efforts had been made by 
Henry Clay, during their struggle, to induce Congress to 
acknowledge their independence, but it was then thought 

Mar. premature ; now the bill was passed. The next year the 
"''' President declared in his message that " as a principle the 
American Continents, by the free and independent posi- 
tion which they have assumed and maintained, are hence- 
forth not to be considered as subjects for future coloniza- 
tion by any Etirojiean power." This has since been 
known as the Monroe Doctrine, though its authorship, it 
would seem, belongs rather to his Secretary of State, John 
Quincy Adams. 

Great financial distress j^revailed during this period 
throughout the land. The immense amount of foreign, 
especially English, merchandise sent, at reduced prices, 
into the country, paralyzed its industry. These goods 
were thus sent for the express purpose of ruining the 
American manufactures, called into existence by the 
necessities of the war — an object which they effectually 
accomplished. The distress of the people, reacted upon 
the general government. "When they refused to buy, be- 
cause unable to jiay, the importations fell off, and as a 
consequence, the revenue was so diminished that the 
government, from necessity, resorted to loans in order to 
obtain means of defraying its current expenses. The 
general distress was not a little increased by the measures 
of the National Bank. Indeed no confidence could be 



THE VISIT OF LAFATETTE. 653 

placed in the banks except those of New England, which ^^:^,^- 

redeemed their notes in specie when presented, whUe 

those in other parts of the Union became bankrupt. The 1824. 
density of the population of the New England States 
enabled them to engage with advantage in manufactures, 
and also in shipping, and the coasting trade, which was 
especially profitable. For these reasons they withstood 
the financial crisis, whUe the agricultural and manufactur- 
ing interests of the other States were overwhelmed. 

The country, by its own innate energy, began to re- 
cover from these financial difficulties. As a means to 
accomjjlish that desirable object, an increase of tariff was 
imjiosed on imported merchandise, thus to protect do- 
mestic industry from undue foreign comjietition, to create 
a diversity of pursuits, and develop the resources of the 
nation. 

Congress also manifested its sense of justice by mak- 
ing provision for the wants of the surviving ofiicers and 1818. 
soldiers of the Kevolution, and for the widows and orphans 
of those deceased. 

The last year of Monroe's administration was signal- 
ized by an event highly gratifying to the people, an event 
linking the past with the present, the days of conflict and 
trial with the days of peace and prosperity. The vener- 
able Lafayette came to the United States, the invited 
guest of the nation. Around every fireside tradition had '' 
fondly cherished his memory, and the people loved him as 
the noble and generous stranger who, in the days of their 
fathers, had sacrificed his fortune and shed his blood in 
their country's cause. They vied with each other in do- 
ing him honor. His journey from State to State was one 
continued triumphal 2)rocession; compared with this sponta- 
neous expression of a nation's gratitude, how insignificant 
the proudest triumph of Roman consul or emperor ! The 
vessel designated to carry him home was the new frigate 
Brandywine, a name — given by the new President, John 



654 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



CHAP. Quincy Adams — that conveyed a delicate compliment, as 

on the banks of that little stream he was wounded in his 

1825. first battle in the cause of American freedom. The 
American people wished to manifest still further their 
sense of obligation, and Congress conferred upon him two 
hundred thousand dollars and a township of land. 

When the time came to choose a successor to Monroe — 
now in his second term — four candidates were put in 
nomination ; John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, General 
Jackson, and William H. Crawford. No one of the can- 
didates received a majority of the popular vote, and the 
election devolved upon the House of Kepresentatives, by 
whom Adams was chosen. John C. Calhoun had been 
chosen Vice-President by the popular vote. 

This election gave the death-blow to the custom of 
nominating candidates for the Presidency by a caucus 
held by certain members of Congress. Previous to this, 
for twenty-four successive years, the candidates had been 
thus nominated, and consequently chosen from a single 
State. 



CHAPTER XLVII. 

JOHN QUIXCY ADAMS' ADMINISTRATION. 

Manufactures and Internal ImproTements. — Indian Lands in Georgia. — 
Death of the ex-Presidents Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. — Free 
Masonry. — Protection to American Industry. — Debates in Congress. — 
Presidential Contest. 

The new President invited able and experienced men to ^^^: 

form his cabinet, at the head of which was Henry Clay, 

as Secretary of State. This administration was one of 1825. 
remarkable prosperity ; the nation was gradually advanc- 
ing in wealth and happiness, gaining strength at home, 
and securing more and more of the respect of nations 
abroad. Every branch of industry was increasing in pros- 
perity ; agriculture, commerce, and manufactures. 

Numerous companies had been formed for the purpose 
of making iron nails, and also for the manufacture of 1815. 
broadcloths, though the latter were soon involved in ruin 
by " a deluge of English cloths." In those days fine wool 
was worth a dollar and a half a pound, while badly made 
broadcloth cost from eight to twelve dollars a yard. 

The wars of Europe opened a wide field for enterprise 
in the carrying trade. American genius and art produced 
the style of ship known as the clipper. These far out- 
stripped aU others in sailing ; they made rapid voyages, 
and, what was important in those days, they were able 
very often to evade the French and English cruisers. At 
first, the United States had but little of their own products 






656 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, to send to the old world, but presently Eli Whitney in- 
vented the cotton-gin, by ■which the seed was separated 

1793. from the cotton, and that gradually became the most im- 
portant article of export. 

The great National Road — the work of the General 
Government — extending across the Alleghany Mountains, 
from Cumberland, Maryland, to Wheeling, on the Ohio, 
and to be continued to the Mississippi, had just been 

1820. completed, at an expense of one million seven hundred 
thousand dollars. It was commenced in Jefferson's ad- 
ministration, and had been fourteen years in building. 
Its beneficial effects upon the country were very great, in 
thus connecting the valley of the Ohio with the seaboard. 
A still more important work was also finished — the 

1825. Erie Canal, uniting the Hudson and the waters of the 
great lakes. It was the work of the State of New York, 
and was completed after a labor of eight years. The pro- 
ject was at first deemed visionary and impracticable ; 
but owing principally to the energy of De Witt Clinton, 
privately, as well as a member of the Legislature and as 
Governor, the work was carried through. The completion 
and success of these improvements encouraged the con- 
struction of others in various parts of the Union — one, 

1832. the Ohio Canal, from Lake Erie to the Ohio river. The 
first railway was the Quincy, in Massachusetts, designed 

1827. to transport granite to the sea-shore. The first locomo- 
tive used in the United States was on the Hudson and 

1832. Mohawk Railroad. 

A difficult question arose in relation to the removal of 
the Creeks and the Cherokees, from their lands in Georgia 
and Alabama, to the region beyond the Mississippi. 
Georgia claimed jurisdiction over the Indians within her 
territory. Originally claiming the region west of her 
1802. boundary, she ceded it to the United States, on condition 
that the latter should, by purchase, extinguish the title 



"1 

1 



I 



DEATH OF EX-PKESIDENTS JEFFEESON AND ADAMS. 657 

of the Indian lauds reserved within her own limits. The chap. 

national government promised to fulfil its part of the 

agreement " as early as the same conld he peaceably oh- 1825. 
tained on reasonable terms." Twenty-five years had 
passed, and these titles had not been purchased. The 
Indians were not willing to sell their territory. However, 
a treaty had been recently made by some of the chiefs, 
who ceded the lands, but the great majority of the Indians 
declared these chiefs had no authority to sell the property 
of the nation. Thus, according to the original contract, 
the national government could not extinguish the Indian 
titles. 

The government cancelled this treaty, but the State 
of Georgia determined to enforce it. The latter sent sur- 
veyors into the Indian country, to divide the lands into 
portions suitable for farms, before distributing them by 
lottery to the citizens of the State. The Federal govern- 
ment took the part of the poor Indians, and the President 
proclaimed that he would euforce the laws committed to 
his trust, while Troup, the bellicose Governor of Georgia, 
wrote to the Secretary of War : "From the first decisive 
act of hostility, you will be considered and treated as a 
public enemy." The matter for the present was adjusted 
by the Creeks consenting to dispose of their lands, and to 
emigrate. Kather than be thus harassed they were will- 
ing to remove from their happy homes, and give up their 
hopes of civilization. 

This year was marked by the deaths of two dis- 
tinguished men, whose names are identified with the 
history of the government — John Adams and Thomas 
Jefferson. Both were men of liberal education, and both 
chose the profession of the law ; both had been consistent 
and strenuous advocates of national independence, and 
were upon the committee which proposed that famous 
declaration. The one drew it up, and the other was its 
most efficient supporter ; both signed it ; both had been 
42 



658 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

XLvfi *^° foreign missions ; both were first Vice-Presidents, and 
then became Presidents. " They ended their earthly 

1826. career at the same time and in the same way ; in the 
regular course of nature, in the rejDose and tranquillity of 
retirement, in the bosoms of their families, on the soil 
which their labors had contributed to make free," and 
within a few hours of each other, on the fiftieth anniver- 
sary of American independence. 

A certain William Morgan, of Western New York, a 
member of the society of Free Masons, suddenly disap- 
peared, he having been seized and forcibly carried ofi". 

Sept. He liad proposed to publish a book revealing the secrets 
of the order, some of whose members were charged with his 
murder. The affair created a great excitement, which led 
to the formation of a political party, whose avowed object 
was to exclude Free Masons from office. In several of 
the States the party polled a large number of votes, but 
in a year or two it disappeared. 

The manufacturing interests were still laboring to sus- 
tain themselves against foreign competition. The senti- 
ment prevailed, especially in the northern States and in 
some of the southern, that measures should be taken to 
protect the industry of the nation. In accordance with 
this view, a convention of delegates from twenty-two 

y , States of the Union assembled at Harrisburg, in Pennsyl- 

1827. vania. Four of the slave States did not send delegates. 

The Convention memorialized Congress to grant pro- 
tection to American industry ; to impose a tariff on im- 
ported goods, sufficiently high to shield American pro- 
ducers of the same articles from the ruinous effects of 
foreign competition ; and they also asked that this policy 
should be fixed, and thus give stabihty to the enterprise 
of the country. Capital would not be invested in domes- 
tic manufactures, if they were liable at any time to be 
ruined either by the combination of foreign competitors 



THE TARIFF DEBATES IN CONGRESS. 659 

or by change of policy at home. The people of New chap. 

England had comiilained of these changes. Their climate '_ 

and soil forbade their becoming rivals of their sister States 1828. 
in agriculture, and their industry had been turned into 
other channels, especially those of commerce and the 
fisheries. Upon them had fallen nearly all the losses 
inflicted by the cruisers of France and England, and yet 
they had been more discouraged and had suffered more 
loss by the embargoes and other restrictions of their own 
government. During this period, the central position of 
New York had been gradually drawing to herself much of 
the commerce and shipping that once belonged to Boston. 
A territory so extensive, and climates so diverse, brought 
into existence many kinds of industry that were liable to 
be injured or ruined by foreign competition. At first 
New England was opposed to the policy of protection, 
and the Middle and Southern States were in its favor. 
Now this was reversed. New England had been forced 
to adapt her industry to the change of national policy, 
while the South had changed her views. 

Said Webster, when this bill was under discussion in 
Congress : " New England held back and labored to re- 
strain the General Government from the adoption of this 
policy, but when it was adopted she then adapted herself 
to it, and turned herself to manufactures, but now just as 
she is successful, another change is to be brought about, 
and she set adrift in another direction." 

The South, on the other hand, expected to reap the 
harvest, not merely from the exports of the raw material, 
but also a due share of the profits arising from manu- 
factures. She was disappointed in seeing northern towns 
becoming cities, and southern cities decaying ; the North 
a money lender, the South a borrower. Before the Revo- 
lution she was pre-eminently the richest part of the 
colonies, a position which she fully expected to retain 
after that period. Hers were the only exports fiom the 



660 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, land ; the North was dependent upon commerce and fish- 

eries ; both precarious. Since the Kevolution, the South 

1828. had exported more in vah;e than three times all that the 
mines of Mexico had produced for the same period, yet 
she did not prosper. This effect she attributed to the 
protective tariffs of the National Government. She failed 
to notice that this decline began before these tariffs were 
May imposed. Other causes aided in the result.' A bill 
passed Congress, imposing higher duties upon cottons and 
woollens, and also other foreign articles, which would come 
into competition with those of domestic origin. The dis- 
satisfaction felt in South Carolina led, two years after, to 
the open avowal on her part, of the doctrine of nullifica- 
tion and secession, based upon the ground that the act 
was unconstitutional. 

The contest for the office of President was between 
Adams and General Jackson. The '' era of good feeling" 
had passed away, and party lines were stringently drawn. 
The spirit of the contest was more violent than ever be- 
fore ; and the whole nation seemed moved to its very 
centre. The denunciation of the candidates and their 
principles was, on both sides, unjust, unreasonable and 
disgraceful. The choice fell upon Jackson as President, 
and Calhoun as Vice-President. The election over, the 
excitement calmed down. This fact, as usual, was ad- 
duced as an evidence of the stabihty of our institutions, 
and of the willingness of the people to submit to the will 
of the majority. Yet who does not lament such exhi- 
bitions of party strife, or their demoralizing effects .'' 

The nation had never been in a condition so pros- 
perous as at this time. The national debt was much 
diminished, and a surplus of more than five millions 
of dollars was in the public treasury. The blessings 
of peace had been showered upon the land, and it was 
rejoicing in prosperity and abundance — the rewards of 
active industry. 

' Benton's Thirty Years' View, Chap, xxxiv., Vol. i. 



CHAPTEE XLVIII. 

JACKSON'S ADMINISTRATION. 

Appointments to OiJice. — Removal of the Indians from Georgia. — Bank of 
the United States. — Hayne and Webster's Debate. — NulUfication. — The 
Compromise Bill ; its final Passage. — Removal of the Deposits. — 
Effect upon the Country. — Indian Wars. — Black Hawk ; Osceola. — In- 
demnity for French Spoliations. 

The new President nominated the members of his cabi- chap. 

XLVIII 
net, at the head of which he placed Martin Van Buren ; ; 

as Secretary of State. Tlie Postmaster-General was now 1829. 
for the first time admitted as a Cabinet Officer. 

The President professed to take the Constitution as 
the chart by which he should be governed in fulfilling the 
duties of his office ; rather, it woidd seem, as he himself 
understood it, than as expounded by the Supreme Court 
of the United States. His vigorous arm was immediately 
exerted in favor of his political friends, and this gave to 
his administration a decided partisan character. The 
former Presidents, during a period of forty-four years, had 
removed sixty-four persons from office ; during his rule 
of eight years, Jackson removed six hundred and ninety, 
and put in their places his political friends. These sweep- 
ing removals secured ardent partisans, as well as produced 
bitter opponents ; but regardless of either friend or foe, 
the President pursued the course he had marked out, with 
liis wonted determination. 



662 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

v^m^T During his administration, an unusual number of ex- 

citing questions came up for consideration, and the many 

1829. interests thus involved affected the people in every State 
in the Union. The first important measure, was the re- 
moval of the Cherokee Indians from the State of Georgia. 
They had been protected by the General Government, 
under Adams. The Supreme Court of the United States 
had decided in their favor, and against the action of the 
State ; but that decision had little influence with the 
President. He did not rebuke the State, when she be- 
gan to drive them from their homes, and to distribute 
their lands, many of them cultivated farms, among her 
own citizens. He sent General Scott with trooj^s to re- 
move them, and his kindness and persuasions induced 
them to migrate peacefully ; yet with lamentations, they 
1883. took leave of " the beloved land." 

Their sacrifices as a people were very great, not only 
in the loss of property, but in the check given to their 
industrial and moral progress. The self-denying labors 
of missionaries and teachers had enabled them to advance 
rapidly toward a Christianized civilization. They derived 
their sustenance from their own cultivated fiields ; they 
clothed themselves almost entirely with the fiibrics which 
their women sjiun and wove ; they lived in settled habi- 
tations, some of wood and some of brick ; they made 
provision for the education of their children — five hun- 
dred of whom were in schools — besides endowing a Na- 
tional Academy for the youth further advanced. They 
also established a newspaper, printed partly in English, 
and partly in their own language. " We hope," said 
they, "that with God's blessing the time will soon come 
when the words war-whoop and scalping-knife will be 
heard no more." 

Two of their missionaries, the Rev. S. A. Worcester 
and Dr. Ehsur Butler, were ruthlessly imprisoned in the 
penitentiary by the authority of the State of Georgia, 



\ 



UNITED STATES BANK — FOOX'S RESOLUTION. 663 

though they acted in accordance with the law of the land, chap. 

as interi:)reted by the Supreme Court of the United States, . 

in refusing to take the oath of allegiance to the State. 1829. 

Chief Justice Marshall, in pronouncing the opinion of 
the court, declared the act of the State to be " repugnant to 
the Constitution, treaties and laws of the United States ; 
and therefore void, and ought to be reversed and annulled," 
and the prisoners discharged. Yet these men obtained 
no redress on their appeal to the General Government, 
either for themselves or the Indians. 

When at length liberated from prison, the missionaries 
accompanied the Indians to their distant homes beyond 
the Mississippi, there to labor for their good. 

The President, in his first message to Congress, inti- 
mated his hostility to the Bank of the United States, and 
his design of refusing his signature to any bill renewing its 
charter. 

However, when the stockholders of the Bank applied 
to Congress, a bill to renew its charter passed both Houses, 
and the President refused to sign it. He gave, as a reason, 
his opinion that Congress had no constitutional authority 
to charter such an institution, and moreover he deemed it 
inexpedient to continue the Bank. 

As the bill could not obtain the requisite two-thirds 
vote to become a law, the Bank was forced to close its 
affairs, when its charter should expire. 183G. 

Senator Foot, of Connecticut, submitted a resolution of 
inquiry as to the disposal of the public lands. The de- 1830. 
bate on the resolution took a wide range, in the course of 
which the young and brilliant Senator, Robert Y. Hayne, 
of South Carolina, avowed the opinion that any State had 
a right, as a sovereign power, to declare null and void any 
act of Congress, which that State deemed unconstitutional. 
This was the first time that the doctrine of nullijication 



664 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, had been openly maintained in the councils of the nation — 

the sentiments rather of Calhoun the Vice-President than 

1832. of the speaker himself: a doctrine based upon the as- 
sumption that the National Government was a compact 
between the States, and that any of them coidd at pleas- 
ure recede from the Union. 

Daniel Webster at once pointed out the injurious re- 
sults to the Union if these principiles were acted upon. 

This debate, continued for several days, and not only from 
the masterly manner in which it was conducted, but from 
the influence it exerted upon the minds of the American 
people, was one of the most important that ever occurred 
in the Halls of Congress. Webster clearly exposed the 
fallacy of the argument adduced to prove that the Na- 
tional Government was a compact of sovereign, independ- 
ent States ; or that any of them were at liberty to with- 
draw from the Union, without the consent of the others. On 
the contrary, he urged that the Constitution was the work of 
the people themselves, not as members of each independent 
State, but as members of all the States ; and that the 
Supreme Court was the tribunal authorized to decide in 
cases of conflict between the States and the General 
Government. Says the venerable Chancellor Kent in 
reference to the discussion, and especially Webster's 
speech : " It turned the attention of the public to the 
great doctrines of national rights and national union. 
Constitutional law was rescued from the archives of our 
tribunals and the libraries of our lawyers, placed under 
the eye, and submitted to the judgment of the American 
people." And heartily did they respond to the sentiment 
that the " Union must be preserved." The importance 
of the sidDJect awakened an intense interest in the nation, 
and the reports of the discussion were read and commented 
upon by millions. This debate really settled the question 
of nulhficatiou ; and its influence upon the public mind 



REVISION OF THE TAEIFF — NULLIFICATION. 665 

created a moral power wliich gave a death-blow to the char 

dangerous design then in existence. 

1832. 

Congress, in revising the tariff, instead of diminishing, 
increased the duties on many articles. This gave still July- 
greater offence to the cotton-growing States, who com- 
plained, that they in consequence paid exorbitant prices, 
especially for cottons and woollens. The question be- 
came in some respects a sectional one. The North on the 
one hand had accommodated her industry to manufac- 
tures ; she had acquired skill, and was imwilling to sac- 
rifice this and also an immense amount of invested 
capital. She thought it unjust that her interests should 
be injured, if not ruined, by a change of the policy under 
which she had been compelled to turn her attention to 
that particular sphere of industry. On the other hand, 
the South, pointing to her exhausted fields, especially in 
the Atlantic States, and their diminution of population, 
exclaimed : See what the tariff has done ! Says McDuf&e 
of South Carolina, on the floor of Congress : " Look, sir, at 
the present aspect of the Southern States. In no part of 
Europe will you see the same indications of decay. De- 
serted vUlages, houses falling to ruin, impoverished lands 
thrown out of cultivation." The reason that the South 
did not derive benefit from the imposition of a tariff was 
admitted by Hayne himself " The slaves," said he in 
the Senate, " are too improvident, too incapable of minute, 
constant, delicate attention, and the persevering industry 
which is essential to the success of manufacturing estab- 
lishments." Similar sentiments were expressed by other 
members of Congress. 

The States of Virginia, Georgia and South Carolina 
were the most opposed to the measure, but only the latter 
took the responsibility of openly resisting the collection 
of duties imposed by this law of Congress. She published 
an ordinance to that effect, and denied the authority of 



666 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

linn *^^ General Groverninent to enforce what she deemed an 

unconstitutional law. 

1833. The President immediately issued a proclamation, 

moderate in its language but determined in tone. In 
plain terms he expressed his views upon the subject, and 
intimated that he would vindicate the power intrusted to 
his hands. He appealed " to the understanding and 
patriotism of the people of the State, and warned them 
of the consequences that must inevitably result from 
obeying the dictates of the convention," which had ad- 
vised resistance to the law. 

Previous to this, Calhoun had resigned the vice-presi- 
dency, and now appeared in the Senate in the place of 
Hayne, who had retired to take the office of Governor of 
South Carolina, and who now replied to the President by 
.j^" a counter proclamation. He warned the people of the 
State against " the dangerous and pernicious doctrines " 
in that document, and called upon them to disregard 
" those vain menaces " of military force, " to be fully pre- 
pared to sustain the dignity and protect the liberties of 
the State, if need be, with their lives and fortunes." 

Nothing daunted. South Carolina j^i'oclaimed herself 
hostile to the Union, and resolved to maintain her rights 
as a Sovereign State, by organizing troops and providing 
munitions of war. Meantime her Legislature passed laws 
which forbade the collection of United States revenue 
within her boundaries ; and intimated that if an attempt 
was made by the General Government to enforce the col- 
lection of such duties, she would exercise her right to 
secede from the Union, and " forthwith proceed to organ- 
ize a separate government." The attitude of the State 
was imjiosing and resolute. But the President was 
equally as decided in his measures to enforce the laws. 
Soon a national vessel, with troops on board, appeared in 
the harbor of Charleston ; they came to aid the officers 
in the collection of the revenue. The State receded from 



Mar. 
3. 



THE COMPROMISE BILL — ITS FINAL PASSAGE. 667 

her defiant position, and the storm calmed down ; the ™ar 

famous Tariff Compromise, just passed by Congress, fur- '. 

nished a convenient reason for that act of prudence. 1833. 

Henry Clay was the principal author of the measure, 
and to him belongs the honor of introducing it into the 
Senate. The Compromise consisted in gradually dimin- 
ishing for ten years the imposts, till they should arrive at 
a uniform rate of twenty per cent. — the revenue standard 
for which the opponents of the tariff contended. 

The secret history of the final passage of that Com- 
promise bill in the Senate is singular. Its opponents 
had denounced the principle of protection to American 
industry, as unconstitutional. In order to prevent op- 
position to the bill on that ground, after it had become a 
law, it was necessary that those opposing it should be 
induced to vote for it ; to vote, not only for the bill as a 
whole, but for its separate articles. The crisis was near. 
The President had determined to enforce the law ; he 
scouted the idea of compromise, and stood ready to arrest 
the leaders, especially Calhoun, and bring him to trial for 
treason. John M. Clayton, of Delaware, privately gave 
the parties to understand that he should move to lay the 
bill on the table, where it should lie, unless the nuUifiers 
should one and all give it their individual support. He 
assured them that there was a sufficient number of 
senators (whose names he refused to give), to prevent its 
passage, if this condition was not complied with. The 
amendments to the bill had all passed but the last ; the 
one which embodied the principle of home valuation. 
This Calhoun and his friends opposed with great vehe- 
mence. Clayton moved to lay the bill on the table, and 
no persuasion could induce him to withdraw the motion. 
The opponents of the measure withdrew from the hall for 
a few minutes, to consult. One of their number presently 
returned and requested Clayton to withdraw his motion, 
to give time to consider the amendment. He consented, 



668 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

^HAP. with the understanding that, if necessary, he would re- 

new it. That night, consultations were held by the 

1833. Southern members. The next day, when the hill was 
under consideration, it was intimated that it could be 
passed without the aid of Calhoun's vote. But Clayton 
was inflexible — his vote must he given for the bill, or 
' .p' nothing would he secured by it. It was the last day of 
the session — another Congress would not meet for months. 
It was a solemn hour. If the imi^ending collision be- 
tween the State and the Government should occur, who 
could tell what would be the result ? How could South 
Carolina be extricated from the difficulties of her position ? 
Calhoun remained to the last, his friends one by one 
voting for the amendment. After making a few remarks 
on the conditions upon which he should act, he also voted 
for the amendment, and afterward for the bill as a whole.' 
On the fourth of March, General Jackson entered 
upon his second term of office, with Martin Van Buren, of 
New York, as Vice-President. The principal opposing 
candidate was Henry Clay. 

According to its charter, the Bank of the United 
States was the legal depository of the public funds. The 
Secretary of the Treasury only, with the sanction of 
Congress, had authority to remove them. By resolution, 
Congress had expressed the opinion that the public 
moneys were safe in the keeping of the Bank. The 
President thought differently. When Congress was not 
in session, he made known to the Cabinet his intention to 
remove the public funds from the custody of the Bank, 
and to transfer them to certain State Banks. The 
majority of the Cabinet were opposed to the measure. 
As he could not reach the money except through the 
Secretary of the Treasury, William J. Duane, he directed 

■ Thirty Years' View, Vol. i. Chap. Ixxxv. 



EEMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITS — INDIAN WARS. 669 

him to remove the deposits ; but the Secretary viewing chap. 

the measure as " unnecessary, unwise, arbitrary, and un- 

just," refused. The President immediately dismissed 1833. 
him from office, and appointed Koger B. Taney, tlie 
present Chief Justice, in his place, who hastened to issue 
an order to the collectors, forbidding them to deposit the Oct. 
public moneys in the Bank of the United States. The 
intention being to withdraw the funds already in its pos- 
session, as they should be needed in defraying the current 
expenses of the government. 

The measure spread distrust through the whole mer- 
cantile community, and destroyed that confidence which 
is essential to the success of business transactions. The 
notes of the Bank were at par throughout the Union, but 
now the whole system of exchange was thrown into con- 
fusion. Universal distress prevailed. The wages of daily 
laborers were especially depressed. Memorials from all 
parts of the country poured into Congress, asking it to 
adopt measures that would give relief. After a time, the 
State banks endeavored to relieve the monetary distress 
by liberal loans. These loans, in turn, were the occasion 
of exciting a spirit of speculation that produced still 
greater evils. 

The Administration was not exempt from Indian 
troubles. Some of the north-western tribes, led by Black 
Hawk, a chief of the Sac nation, made incursions against 1332. 
the frontier settlements of Illinois. The government sent 
troops, under General Atkinson, who soon, with the aid 
of the militia, drove the savages beyond the Mississippi. 
In one of the skirmishes, Black Hawk himself was cap- 
tured. To impress him with the greatness of the nation, 
he was first taken to Washington, and then to visit the 
princii^al eastern cities. 

Two years afterward an attempt was made by the 
government to remove the Seminole Indians beyond the 



670 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Jp^P- Mississippi Eiver. They refused to emigrate, and another 



Indian war was the consequence. Skulking through the 

1834. swamjjs and woods of Florida, the savages would suddenly 
dash into the settlements to murder and destroy. Many 
valuable lives were thus lost. Among these were Major 
Dade, and more than a hundred men, who all perished 
by falling into an ambuscade. On the same day, the 
United States' agent, Mr. Wiley Thompson, and five of 
his friends were killed and scalped by Osceola, the leading 
chief of the Seminoles. The year before, Thompson had 
injudiciously offended the savage, by confining him in 
irons for a day. Though ho feigned friendship, his iiroud 
spirit thirsted to revenge the insult. The Creeks joined 
the Seminoles, and attacked several villages, both in 
Georgia and Alabama. The unhealthy vapors of the 
swamps, the bites of poisonous snakes and insects, inflict- 
ed intense sufferings upon the troops. It was impossible 
to subdue the Indians, who, after their attacks upon the 
Whites, would retreat to their hiding-places in the swamps. 
Led by Osceola, the war, or rather skirmishing, continued 
for years ; the troops were bafSed again and again. At 
length his own policy, of making treaties only to break 
them, was practised upon himself One day he appeared 
under a flag of truce at the American camp. General 

1837. Jessup, who was in command, immediately made him 
prisoner, with all his followers. Osceola was sent to 
Charleston, and while there confined in Fort Moultrie, a 
fever terminated his eventful life. 

Colonel Zachary Taylor, afterward President of the 

184:2. United States, was sent to succeed Jessup. Taylor, by 
great exertions, brought the war to a close, but not tUl 
it had lasted altogether seven years, and cost the nation 

1836. many lives, and thirty millions of dollars. 

During this administration, died John Marshall, one 
of the most remarkable men of the time, at the age of 
four-score. He had served in the army of the Revolution, 



CLAIMS AGAINST FRANCE SETTLED. 671 

and won the esteem of Washington ; had been a memher ^f^^ 

of the House of Eepresentatives, Secretaiy of State, 1 

Secretary of War, and Minister to France. President John 1836. 
Adams nominated him Chief Justice of the Supreme 
Court, over which for thirty-five years he presided " with 
native dignity and unpretending grace." His solidity of 
judgment, his reasoning powers, his acute and picnetrating 
mind, were remarkable, and none the less striking were the 
purity of his Christian life and his simplicity of manner. 

The maxim of foreign policy acted upon by the Presi- 
dent was "to ask nothing but what was right, and to 
submit to notliing that was wrong." American merchants 
had claims, amounting to five millions of dollars, against 
the French government. They had remained unsettled 
for twenty years. These indemnities were for " unlawful 
seizures, captures, and destruction of vessels and cargoes," 
during the wars of Napoleon. The government of Louis 
Philippe acknowledged their justice, and by treaty en- 
gaged to pay them. But the Chamber of Deputies, at 
different times during three years, refused to appropriate 
the money. The President sent a message to Congress, 
recommending reprisals upon French property if the treaty 
was not complied with. The French Chambers took 
ofience at the tone of the message, and although Congress 
had not acted upon its suggestions, they refused to pay 
the money unless the obnoxious proposal was withdrawn. 
This brought another message, in which the President re- 
viewed the difliculties existing between the governments. 
Said he : " Come what may, the explanation which 
France demands can never be accorded ; and no arma- 
ment (alluding to a French fleet then on our coast), 
however jjowetful and imposing, will, I trust, deter us 
from discharging the high duties which we owe to our 
constituents, to our national character, and to the world." 
He suggested to Congress to prohibit the entrance of 



672 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. French imports into our ports, and the interdiction of 

XLVllI. • 1 • 

all commercial intercourse. 

1830. At this time Great Britain oifered her mediation. The 

offer was accepted by both parties. In the mean time 
the Chamber of Deputies apjjropriated the money to 
satisfy the claims and fulfil the treaty. 

Equally successful was the President in arranging 
other difficulties of long standing ; claims for similar 
seizures and spoUations against Spain, Naples and Den- 
mark. Also treaties of commerce and friendship were ne- 
gotiated with Kussia, and the Ottoman Empire — the 
first American treaty with the latter power. 

Two States, Arkansas and Michigan, were added to 
the Union ; the original thirteen had now doubled. 

After a spirited contest, Martin Van Buren, of New 
jfov. York, was elected Pre.sident by the peojile, and Richard 
M. Johnson, of Kentucky, Vice-President, not by the elec- 
toral vote, but by the Senate. 

General Jackson's administration will ever be memo- 
rable for its measures ; and none the less for the custom 
then introduced, and unfortunately, with rare exceptions, 
still continued, of removing persons from office for pohtical 
purposes, and filling their places with partisans. 

The nation was greatly agitated by the conflicts grow- 
ing out of the diversity of opinion on the jDolicy of the 
President and his adherents. But energy and determina- 
tion enabled him to carry his points in defiance of opposi- 
tion and established usages. 



CHAPTER XLIX. 

VAN BUREN'S ADMINISTRATION. 

Apparent Prosperity. — The Specie Circular. — The Surplus Funds. — Sus- 
pension of Specie Payments. — Speculation. — Special Session of Con- 
gress. — The Sub-Treasury. — State Indebtedness. 

T HE last year of Jackson's administration appeared to chap. 

be one of very great national prosperity. The public '_ 

debt had been cancelled two years before, and there were 1837. 
nearly forty millions of dollars of surplus. This pros- 
perity was fallacious in the extreme. 

The State Banks, called in derision the " Pets," with 
whom the deposits had been placed, loaned money freely, 
with the expectation that they should continue to have 
the use of the public funds until they were called for by 
the Government. That time seemed to be distant, as its 
revenue was greater than its current expenses. 

Other banks sprang into existence, until the number 
amounted, throughout the land, to seven hundred and fifty. 
These institutions had very little gold or silver in their 
vaults, as a means to redeem the notes with which they 
flooded the country, giving a fictitious value to every thing 
that was bought or sold. They rivalled each other in af- 
fording facilities for the wildest schemes of speculation. 

The public lands became an object of this speculation, 
until the sales amounted to millions in a month. Two 
acts — the one of the late President ; the other of Con- 
43 



672 HISTOET OF THK UNITED STATES. 

Tmu -^I'^^ch imports into our ports, and the interdiction of 

all commercial intercourse. 

1836. At this time Great Britain offered her mediation. The 

offer was accepted by both parties. In the mean time 
the Chamber of Deputies appropriated the money to 
satisfy the claims and fulfil the treaty. 

Equally successful was the President in arranging 
other difficulties of long standing ; claims for similar 
seizures and spoHations against Spain, Naples and Den- 
mark. Also treaties of commerce and friendship were ne- 
gotiated with Kussia, and the Ottoman Emjsire — the 
first American treaty with the latter power. 

Two States, Arkansas and Michigan, were added to 
the Union ; the original thirteen had now doubled. 

After a spirited contest, Martin Van Buren, of New 
ig-Qv. York, was elected President by the people, and Richard 
M. Johnson, of Kentucky, Vice-President, not by the elec- 
toral vote, but by the Senate. 

General Jackson's administration will ever be memo- 
rable for its measures ; and none the less for the custom 
then introduced, and unfortunately, with rare exceptions, 
still continued, of removing persons from office for political 
purposes, and filling their places with partisans. 

The nation was greatly agitated by the confficts grow- 
ing out of the diversity of opinion on the policy of the 
President and his adherents. But energy and determina- 
tion enabled him to carry his points in defiance of opposi- 
tion and established usages. 



CHAPTER XLIX. 

VAN BUREN'S ADMINISTRATION. 

Apparent Prosperity. — The Specie Circular. — The Surplus Funds. — Sus- 
pension of Specie Payments. — Speculation. — Special Session of Con- 
gress. — The Sub-Treasury. — State Indebtedness. 

T HE last year of Jackson's administration appeared to chap. 

aLIX. 



be one of very great national prosperity. The public 
debt had been cancelled two years before, and there were 1837 
nearly forty millions of dollars of surplus. This pros- 
perity was fallacious in the extreme. 

The State Banks, called in derision the " Pets," with 
whom the deposits had been placed, loaned money freely, 
with the expectation that they should continue to have 
the use of the public funds until they were called for by 
the Government. That time seemed to be distant, as its 
revenue was greater than its current expenses. 

Other banks sprang into existence, until the number 
amounted, throughout the land, to seven hundred and fifty. 
These institutions had very little gold or silver in their 
vaults, as a means to redeem the notes with which they 
flooded the country, giving a fictitious value to every thing 
that was bought or sold. They rivalled each other in af- 
fording facilities for the wildest schemes of speculation. 

The public lands became an object of this speculation, 
until the sales amounted to millions in a month. Two 
acts — the one of the late President ; the other of Con- 
43 



674 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, gress — combined to hasten the crisis. President Jackson, 

in oraer to restrain the undue sales of the public lands, 

1837. had issued, through the Treasury Department, an order 
known as the Specie Circular, requiring the collectors 
at the offices to receive only gold and silver in payments 
1830. ^'5'' I'^nd. Six months later, Congress passed a law to dis- 
tribute among the States the government funds, on de- 
posit in the banks. They were thus forced to call in their 
loans to meet this demand, while the Specie Circular 
arrested the circulation of their notes, and brought them 
back to their counters, to be exchanged for gold and silver. 
Witliin six months after this distribution was ordered, the 
business of the whole country was prostrated : all im- 
provements ceased, and twenty thousand laboring men 
were, within a few weeks, thrown out of employment in 
New York City alone, where the failures amounted to one 
hundred millions of dollars, while those of New Orleans 
was as great in proportion, being twenty-seven millions. 
May. A few weeks later, the banks of New York City suspended 
specie payment ; an example which the other banks of 
the country hastened to follow. 

Previous to the suspension of payments, a large and 
respectable committee of merchants of New York visited 
Washington, to lay before the new President the state of 
the country. Similar representations went from almost 
every section of the land. The President denied the re- 
quest of the committee to rescind the Specie Circular, but 
proposed to call a Special Session of Congress, on the first 
Monday of the following September. 

The extent to which speculation raged seems almost 
fabulous. The compromise tariff had nearly run its course, 
and the duty arrived at its minimum ; foreign merchandise 
was imported in unheard-of quantities, thus ruining do- 
mestic industry ; internal improvements, because of the 
facility in obtaining loans, were projected to an extent 
almost without limit ; the pubhc lands were bought by 



SPECULATION THE GOVEKNMENT EMBARRASSED. G75 

the millions of acres, and cities and villages were miilti- chap. 

XLIX 

plied on paper by hundreds ; and stranger still, the sites '_ 

of these prospective cities, divided into lots, were fre- 1837. 
quently made the basis of money transactions. 

A few months before, the General Government was 
free from debt, and had a surplus of forty millions. Now 
the sui-phis had been given to the States ; the importers 
had neither gold nor silver to jiay duties, and the Govern- 
ment itself was deprived of the means to defray its cur- 
rent expenses. 

When Congress assembled, the President made no Sept. 
suggestion as to the manner in which the commercial em- 
barrassments of the country might be relieved, on the 
ground that the General Government was unauthorized 
by the Constitution to afford such relief. He was there- 
fore in favor of the people taking care of themselves. The 
message contained, however, two recommendations ; one 
the issue of Treasury notes, to relieve the Government's 
own embarrassments, the other an Independent Treasury 
for the public funds. The object of the latter was to 
avoid the liability of loss by depositing the piiblic moneys 
in banks. These treasuries were to be located at suitable 
places ; the siib-treasurers to be ai^pointed by the Presi- 
dent, and to give bonds for the proper fulfilment of their 
duties. 

The measure was opposed, lest the withdrawal of so 
much gold and silver from circulation would injure com- 
mercial operations. The bill failed in the House, though 
it passed the Senate. Three years later it was estab- 
lished ; the next year repealed — then re-enacted, five 
years after, and is still the law of the land. 

The Legislatures of many of the States became imbued 
with the spirit of speculation, and as a means to obtain 
loans, issued State stocks to the amount of one hundred 
miUions. This was done under the laudable pretext of 
developing their resources, by internal improvements. 



676 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. Eight of the States failed to pay the interest on these 

loans or stocks. In time they recovered from the shock, 

1838. and hut one of them, Mississippi, and one territory, Florida, 
repudiated their debt and defied their creditors. These 
loans were principally obtained in Europe, ■where, on the 
subject of these failures to pay, great indignation was ex- 
pressed. The whole nation was dishonored ; — two years 
later, when the National Government wished to obtain a 
loan, her agents could not induce a capitalist in all 
Europe to risk a dollar in such investment. 

As the administration of Van Buren drew to a close, 
the financial condition of the country did not much im- 
prove. However, his party nominated him, as well as Vice- 
President Johnson, for a second term. The opposing can- 
didate was WilHam Henry Harrison, of Ohio, whom we 
have seen as a popular general of the north-west during 

1812. the last war, as well as filling many civil offices with 
honor to himself and profit to the country. On the same 
ticket was John Tyler of Virginia, as the candidate for 

1840. Vice-President. Harrison was elected by a very large 
majority. The commercial disasters of the country were 
generally attributed to the interference of the Government 
with the currency ; this belief had caused a great revul- 
sion in the public mind. 



I 



CHAPTEK L. 

HARRISON AND TYLER'S ADMINISTRATION. 

The Inauguration. — -Death of Ilatrison. — Tyler President. — Sub-Treasury 
Act repealed. — Bankrupt Law. — The Bank Charters ; their Vetoes. — 
Proposition to treat with Great Britain. — Insurrection in Canada. — The 
Caroline. — Trial of McLcod. — Boundary Disputes in Maine. — Lord 
Ashburton. — Treaty of Washington. — Questions of Visit and Impress- 
ment. — E.xploring Expedition. — Texas Colonization ; struggles. — Inde- 
peudence. — Siege of Goliad and the Alamo. — D.avy Crocket. — Massacre 
of Prisoners. — Battle of San Jacinto. — Houston President. — Question 
of Annexation in Congress. — Texas Annexed. — Disturbances in Rhode 
Island. — Iowa and Florida become States. 

An immense concourse of people, many of them from chap. 
distant parts of the Union, assembled at Washington to 



witness the inauguration of General Harrison. His ad- 1841. 
dress on that occasion was replete with wisdom ; liberal ^'"' 
and generous, and patriotic in its tone ; a transcript of 
the sincerity of his own heart. His selection of officers to 
compose his Cabinet was unanimously confirmed by the 
Senate ; at its head was Daniel Webster, as Secretary of 
State. 

The certainty of a change of policy in the measures 
of the General Government inspired confidence in the 
commercial world, and the nation, made wiser by adver- 
sity, began to hope. But the expectations of the Presi- 
dent's friends were doomed to be sadly disappointed. His 
first official act was to issue a proclamation, calling a 
special session of Congress, to meet on the 31st of the 



678 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, following May, to take into consideration the condition of 
the countrj'. Before that daj- arrived, the President was 

1841. no more. Suddenly taken ill, all human remedies failed 
^" ■ to give relief, and he expired, just one month after his 
inauguration, in his sixty-ninth year. For the first time, 
death had removed the Chief Magistrate of the Union 
when in office. The loss came home to the hearts of the 
people. Throughout the length and breadth of the land 
they vied with each other in doing honor to his memory. 
Since the death of Washington, the nation had not 
mourned a loss with such imposing ceremonies. This deep 
and pervading sentiment of sorrow was the tribute due the 
memory of a good man ; one who had served his country 
with most scrupulous integrity for more than forty years ; 
whose whole life, public and private, was without reproach. 
Though in pubUc office the greater part of his life, his 
salaries had passed away in charities and hospitalities ; 
to his house the humblest of the land as well as the most 
exalted, had been welcomed ; the poor man's friend, he 
himself died poor. At its very first session after his 
death. Congress, " out of consideration of his expenses in 
removing to the seat of government, and the limited 
means which he had left behind," granted his widow one 
year's presidential salary — twenty-five thousand dollars. 

JOHN TYLER. 

The Vice-President became the President, according 
to the provisions of the Constitution. He retained the 
Cabinet of his predecessor, giving them assurances of his 
^"y respect. Congress convened for the extra session at the 
time designated. One of its first measures was to repeal 
the Sub-Treasury act of the last administration. To 
this regulation for the keeping of the public funds much 
of the pressure in the money market was attributed. 

The failures in the mercantile world had brought ruin 



THE NATIONAL BANK THE VETOES. 679 

upon thousands of upright and enteri^rising men. They CHAI'. 

had become hopelessly bankrupt, in many instances, by 

circumstances beyond their control ; involved in debts, 1842. 
which would forever crush their energies without bene- 
fitting their creditors, themselves, or the country. To 
relieve persons thus insolvent, Congress passed a general 
bankrupt law. The effect of the measure was beneficial, 
and when tlie necessity for its existence had passed away, 
it was repealed. 

One of the issues involved in the last presidential 
election, was the policy of establishing a United States 
Bank or " Financial Agent," which should facilitate mer- 
cantile exchanges throughout the Union. The result of 
the election had shown that the majority of the people 
were in favor of such an institution. In compliance with 
this exi}ression of the popular will, both Houses of Con- 
gress passed a bill chartering such a National Bank. 
Contrary to expectation, the President refused to give it his 
signature. Another bill was passed, modified in its pro- 
visions to accord with his own suggestions. This he also 
refused to sign. These successive vetoes raised a terrible 
storm of indignation against their author, though when 
nominated he was known to be opposed to the United 
States Bank. The great party, by whose votes he held 
his high position, charged him with double dealing ; with 
betraying the trust thoy had committed to his hands. 
The members of his cabinet immediately resigned their 
places, and gave to the country their reasons for so doing. 
Daniel Webster alone remained, lest the public interests 
would suffer by his withdrawal before the completion of 
certain negotiations upon which he was then engaged. 

Between the United States government and that of 
Great Britain two important questions of controversy re- 
mained unadjusted. One growing out of certain revolu- 



682 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, collisions were prevented only by the conciliatory and ju- 

dicious policy of General Scott, who was sent by the 

1840. President to maintain the peace. 

These disputes so long unsettled, very greatly dis- 
turbed the harmony existing between the two nations. 
The correspondence between their governments shows that 
at this time the controversy had assumed a serious and 
delicate character, and that it required the exercise of 
great wisdom, and a mutual conciliatory spirit to prevent 
actnal war. 

When negotiations commenced, commissioners from 
the States of Maine and Massachusetts were invited to 
Washington, that they might be consulted on the subject. 
The treaty was soon concluded. The United States ob- 
tained the navigation of the river St. John's to its mouth, 
and the very important military position — Rouse's Point, 
at the outlet of Lake Champlain. In exchange for these 
were given a small territory of swamps, heath, and rocks, 
and barren mountains, covered with snow the greater part 
of the year. A territory valuable to Great Britain only 
because it enabled her to make a direct road from the 
province of New Brunswick to the St. Lawrence. Both 
nations were benefited by the arrangement, and the vexa- 
tious question of more than half a century's standing was 
amicably settled. 

Another article provided for the mutual rendition of 
fugitives from justice ; but only those who had committed 
acts which would be deemed criminal in the country 
where they had taken refuge. This important measure 
has given general satisfaction to both the contracting 
parties, and has served since as a model for similar treaties 
between some of the European i3owers. The two govern- 
ments also agreed to maintain each a certain number of 
armed vessels on the coast of Africa to aid in suppressing 
the slave-trade. 

After the treaty was concluded two important sub- 



THE QUESTIONS OF SEARCH AND IMPRESSMENT. 683 

jects unexpectedly came up for discussion. One was the chap. 

right assumed by British cruisers to visit, and if necessary 

search, merchant vessels belonging to other nations. In a 1843. 
letter to the American minister at London, and designed 
for the English secretary of Foreign Affairs, Webster de- 
nied the " right," and sustained his opinions against its 
exercise by arguments that have not yet been invalidated. 

The other subject was the imjjressment of seamen by 
British cruisers from American merchant vessels. In a 
letter to Lord Ashburton the Secretary of State assumed 
that it did not comport with the self-respect of the United 
States to enter into stipulations in relation to the right 
of impressment ; as if for a moment the existence of such 
a right could be admitted. On the contrary-that the ex- 
ercise of impressment should be deemed au aggression and 
repelled as such. In an able and conciliatory discussion 
he pointed out the inconsistency of such a right with the 
laws of nations. Yet in the happiest language expressed 
the desire that for the welfare of both countries, all occa- 
sions of irritation should be removed. He announced as 
the basis of the policy of the United States: "Every 
merchant-vessel on the high seas is rightfully considered 
as a part of the territory of the country to which it be- 
longs ; " that " in every regularly documented American 
merchant-vessel the crew who navigate it will find their 
protection in the flag which is over them," and that " the 
American Government, then, is prepared to say that the 
practice of impressing seamen from American vessels can- 
not hereafter be allowed to take place." ' In the same just 
and conciliatory spirit was the reply of Lord Ashburton. 

An apology was impliedly given for the invasion of 
the territory of the United States in the " affair of the 
Caroline." The negotiators conferred informally upon the 
subject of the northern boundary of Oregon, but for the 

' The Works of Daniel Webster, vol. vi. p. 325. 



684 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, present agreed to postpone its settlement. The treaty of 

Washington marks an important era in our history : — the 

1842. time when the United States took that position among 
the nations, to which they were entitled by their power 
and influence. Four years after, Webster said on the 
floor of the Senate : — " I am willing to appeal to the 
public men of the age, whether, in 1842, and in the city 
of Washington, something was not done for the suppres- 
sion of crime, for the true exposition of public law, for the 
freedom and security of commerce on the ocean, and for 
the peace of the world ? " 

The government had not been forgetfid of the ad- 
vancement of science. It sent out an exploring expedi- 
183.8. tion, under Lieutenant Charles Wilkes of the United 
States navy, accompanied by a corps of scientific men, to 
make discoveries in the Antarctic and Pacific oceans. 
After four years it returned bringing the results of inves- 
l8-i2. tigations in Natural History, not valuable to our own 
country alone, but to the world. It sailed ninety thousand 
miles, seventeen hundred of which were along the coast 
of a great Antarctic Continent never seen before by civil- 
ized man. 

The four years of this administration was a period 
fruitful in measures, destined, in their remote consequences, 
to have a varied and almost unlimited influence upon the 
nation. A more important question never came before 
the Houses of Congress, than when the young Republic 
of Texas j)resented herself at their doors, and asked to be 
annexed to the Union. She came offering a fertile ter- 
ritory almost sufficient in extent to make five such States 
as Pennsylvania or New York. The " annexation," led to 
the Mexican war, and that in turn to the acquisition of 
California. 

The region known as Texas had been claimed, but on 
doubtful grounds, as a part of the already purchased ter- 



MOSES AUSTIN — IMMIGRATION TO TEXAS. 685 

ritory of Louisiana. This claim was, however, waived, and chap. 

when Florida was obtained Texas was tacitly admitted to 

belong to Spain, and when Mexico revolted from the 1842. 
mother country, she became one of the confederated States 
wliich formed the Mexican republic. 

The American who originated the plan of colonizing 
Texas, was Moses Austin, a native of Durham, Connec- 
ticut. He was engaged in working the lead mines in 
upper Louisiana, when, in his explorations, he became 
acquainted with the fertile soil and delightful climate of 
Texas. The Spanish Government encouraged immigra- 
tion to that part of the Mexican territory, and it gave 
Austin large grants of land, on condition that he would 1813. 
introduce as colonists three hundred Catholic families 
from Louisiana. Within a month after these arrange- 
ments were completed, Austin himself died, but appointed 
his son Stephen F. Austin to superintend the planting of 
the colony according to the agreement with the Spanish 
government. To his energy and perseverance may be 
^ attributed the success of the enterprise. 

Little was known at Mexico of what was in progress 
in that remote region. The Americans, attracted by the 
liberal grants of land and the fine climate, were pouring 
in. In a few years they numbered twenty thousand, very ^gao. 
few of whom were Catholics, nor did they aU come from 
Louisiana, but from the other Southern and Western 
States. 

Meantime in Mexico other great changes were in jirog- 
ress. First came the revolution by which she declared 1821. 
herself no longer under the jurisdiction of Spain. This 
was succeeded by a confederation of States. In that un- 
happy country one revolution succeeded another in rapid 
succession, tiU finally, Santa Anna, overthrowing the ex- 
isting republic, made himself dictator and tyrant of the 
people. During this time the Texans did not revolt, nor 



686 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, (lid they acquiesce. They ftirmed a constitution, and 
sent Austin to Mexico to ask admission into the con- 

1835. federacy of the republic as a State. This request was de- 
nied, and their messenger thrown into prison. Still Texas 
retained her State officers, and asked that her rights might 
be respected ; when an armed Mexican vessel appeared 
off the coast, and proclaimed that her ports were block- 
aded ; near the same time a Mexican army appeared on 
her western borders, with the intention of arresting her 
State officers, and disarming the inhabitants. It was 
much easier to demand the Texan rifles than to get them. 

Sept. The attem^Dt was made at a place named Gonzales, where 
^^- the Mexicans met with a severe repulse. The Texans, 
though few in number, flew to arms throughout the entire 
country, and in a few months drove the invaders from 
their soil, and captured and garrisoned the strong forts of 
the Goliad and the mission house of Alamo. Thus they 
manfully resisted the designs of Santa Anna to make 
them submit to his usurped authority, and the struggle 
commenced for their rights, their liberties and their lives. 
There were no bonds of sympathy between the Texans 
and Mexicans : neither in religion nor in customs, nor in 
form of government. The Texan despised the Mexican, 
and the Mexican hated and feared the Texan. 

1836. Six months after these reverses Santa Anna invaded 
Texas with a numerous army. The character of the war 
he intended to wage may be inferred from his cruel orders 
to shoot every prisoner taken. The Alamo was invested 
by Santa Anna himself The garrison numbered only 
one hundred and eighty men, while their enemies were as 
sixteen to their one. When summoned to surrender, they, 
knowing the treacherous character of the Mexican Chief, 
reflised. The latter immediately raised the blood-red flag, 
to indicate that he would give no quarter. After repulsing 
the besiegers several times, the Texans, worn out with 

6. watchings and labors, were overcome, and when calling for 



DAVY CROCKET PRISONERS MURDERED. 687 



qxiarter the survivors — only seven — were mercilessly chap. 
butchered. 

Here, surrounded by the bodies of Mexicans who had 1836. 
fallen by his hand, perished the eccentric Davy Crocket. 
Born on the frontiers of Tennessee, his only education was 
that received during two months in a common school. 
Though singular in his mental characteristics, his strong 
common sense and undaunted spirit, won him the respect 
of his fellow-citizens, and they sent him several times to 
represent them in Congress. When he heard of the strug- 
gle in which the people of Texas were engaged, he hastened 
to their aid, and with untiring energy devoted himself to 
their cause. 

At Groliad the little garrison defended themselves with 
unexampled bravery ; not until their resources failed, 
their ammunition exhausted, and famine was staring them 
in the face, did they accept the terms offered by the Mexi- 
can in command, and surrendered. Their hves were to 
be sjiared, and they aided to leave the countiy. Other 
small parties of Texans in diiferent places had been sur- 
prised and taken prisoners. The following night a courier 
arrived from Santa Anna, bringing orders to put the 
prisoners to death the next morning. 

They were marched in little companies outside the 
town, and there shot ; those attemjtting to escape were 
cut down by the cavalrj-. The wounded prisoners were 
then murdered in the same cruel manner ; among the 
wounded who thus suffered, was Colonel Fanning, their 
commander. Thus perished three hundred and thirty 
men, the last words of some of whom were cheers for the 
liberty of Texas. 

A Texan physician, Dr. Grant, was among the 
prisoners, but his life was spared on condition that he 
would attend the wounded Mexican soldiers. He was 
also promised that he should have a passport to leave the 
country as soon as they needed his services no more. He 



688 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, faithfully jjerformed his part, but when the soldiers were 

cured, he was tied upon a wild horse, and told to take " his 

1836. passport and start for home." The cords were cut, and 
the frightened animal rushed to the woods, where, some 
time after, the mangled body of the poor man was found. 
Santa Anna, with an army of seven thousand men, 
moved on toward the San Jacinto river. General Samuel 
Houston had only seven hundred and fifty men, their 
only weapons rifles, pistols and bowie-knives ; in their 
element when fighting, they were impatient to attack the 
enemy. The advance division, consisting of fifteen hun- 
dred men, under the command of Santa Anna himself, 
was the fiower of the Mexican army. The Mexicans 
were well posted, and their front, before which was an 
open grassy space, was carefully fortified. Houston had 
great difiiculty in restraining his men. At three o'clock in 
the afternoon, when Santa Anna and his oflicers were en- 
joying a sleejj, and their men engaged in playing cards, 
Houston passed information along the line that the only 
bridge by which the enemy could escape was cut down, 
with the order to move rapidly to the attack. The sur- 
prise was complete. In twenty minutes their position 
was forced, and the panic stricken Mexicans leaving every 
thing, fled in confusion. More than six hundred were 
slain, and altogether more than eight hundred taken 
prisoners. The following day a Mexican was found skulk- 
ing in the grass. He asked to be led to head-quarters. 
When brought to the Oak under which were the Texan 
head-quarters, he made himself known as Santa Anna. 
He complimented Houston on the renown he had acquired 
in " conquering the Napoleon of the West." Such was 
AprU tlie battle of San Jacinto; the number engaged were corn- 
el- paratively few, yet it virtually ended the contest. Santa 
Anna, at the request of Houston, ordered the Mexican 
anny to retire from the Territory of Texas. He also ac- 



TEXAS INDEPENDENT — QUESTION OF ANNEXATION. 689 

kiiowledged tlie independence of Texas, but the Mexican chap. 
Congress refused to ratify bis act. 

A month previous to this battle, a convention of dele- 1836. 
gates met at a place named Washington, and declared gi" 
themselves independent of Mexico. Tlie convention then 
proceeded to form a Constitution, which in due time was 
adopted by the people. Six months later Houston was 
inaugurated President of the Republic of Texas ; and its 
first Congress assembled." " ' 

When its people threw off their allegiance to Mexico, 
they naturally turned to more congenial associations ; 
they desired to annex themselves to the United States. 

One of the last official acts of General Jackson had 
been to sign a bill recognizing their independence, and 
now the question of their annexation became the absorbing 
topic of political discussion in the United States, in 
every section of which many opposed the measure only 
on the ground that it would incur a war with Mexico, 
whose government still persisted in fruitless efforts to re- 
duce the Texans to obedience. The interminable ques- 
tion of slavery, as usual, was involved in the controversy. 
The South was almost unanimously in favor of annexa- 1344. 
tion. The genial climate, the fertile soil, and the varied 
productions of Texas, were so many pledges that slave 
labor would there be profitable. A strong jiarty in the 
North was opposed to the measure, lest it should perpetu- 
ate that institution, while one in the South was devising 
plans to preserve the balance of power existing between 
the States in the Senate. 

The subject of annexation, with its varied conse- 
quences, was warmly discussed in both Houses of Con- 
gress, in the newspapers, and in the assemblies of the 
people. 

Calhoun gave his views by saying : " There were 

' Toakum's Hist, of Texas. 
44 



690 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, powerful reasons wliy Texas stould be a part of this 

, Union. The Southern States, owning a slave population, 

1844. were deeply interested in preventing that country from 
having power to annoy them." Said Webster : " That 
while I hold to all the original arrangements and compro- 
mises under which the Constitution under which we now 
live was adopted, I never could, and never can, persuade 
myself to be in favor of the admission of other States into 
the Union, as slave States, with the inequalities which 
were allowed and accorded by the Constitution to the 
slaveholding States then in existence." 

Under the auspices of Calhoun, who was now Secre- 
taiy of State, a treaty was secretly made with Texas, by 
which she was to be admitted into the Union. But the 
Senate immediately rejected it by a vote more than two 
to one, on the ground that to carry out its provisions 
would involve the country in a war with Mexico. This 
rejection was the signal for raising a great clamor through- 
out the land. Annexation was made a prominent issue 
in the pending presidential election — the Democratic party 
in favor of the measure, and the Whigs opposed. To in- 
fluence the credulous, it was boldly asserted that England 
was negotiating with Texas to buy her slaves, free them, 
and, having quieted Mexico, to take the republic under 
her special protection. This story General Houston said 
was a pure fabrication ; yet it served a purpose. In cer- 
tain portions of the South conventions were held, in which 
the sentiment " Texas, or Disunion," was openly advocated. 
The threats of secession and uniting with Texas, unless 
she was admitted to the Union, had but little effect, 
however, upon the great mass of the people. 

The following year it was proposed to receive Texas 
by a joint resolution of Congress. The House of Repre- 
sentatives passed a bill to that eifect, but the Senate 
added an amendment, appointing commissioners to nego- 



THE JOINT RESOLUTIONS — TEXAS ANNEXED. 691 

tiate with Mexico on the subject. Thus manifesting a chap. 

desire to respect the rights of Mexico as a nation with 

whom we were at peace, and at least make an effort to 1844. 
obtain the annexation with her consent, and also the 
settlement of boundaries. 

By a clause in the resolutions the President was 
authorized to adopt either plan. The joint resolutions 
were passed on Saturday, the 2d of March ; Tyler would 
leave office two days later. The President elect, James 
K. Polk, liad intimated that if the question came before 
him he should adojit the Senate's plan, by which it was 
hoped an amicable arrangement could be made with 
Mexico.' The retiring President, and his Secretary of 
State, chose to adopt the mode of annexation proposed in 
the House resolutions. A messenger was sent on Sunday 
night the 3d, to carry the proposition with aU speed to 
the Legislature of Texas. 

The opposition to annexing slaveholding territory to the 
Union was so great that Texas came in by comjjromise. 
Provision was made that four additional States might be 
formed out of the Territory when it should become suffi- 
ciently populous. Those States lying north of the parallel 
of thirty-six degrees thirty minutes, north latitude — the 
Missouri Compromise line — were to be free States ; those 
south of the line, to " be admitted into the Union with or 
without slavery as the jjeople of each State asking admission 
may desire." To the original State, the right was accorded 
to prevent any State being formed out of her territory, by 
refusing her consent to the measure. Texas acceded to 1845. 
the loroposition, and thus became one of the United States, ^"'y 
Her population now amounted to two hundred thousand. 

For nearly two hundred years the jDeople of Ehode 
Island had lived under the charter granted by Charles II. 
According to that instrument only those owning a certain 

' Benton's Thii-ty Years' View, Chap, cxlviii., Vol. ii. 



692 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, amount of property could vote. The desire to change 
this provision gave rise to two jjarties, the " Suffrage," 

1845. and " The Law and Order ; " each determined to secure 
to their own party the administration of affairs, and each 
elected State officers. Thomas W. Dorr, elected gov- 
ernor by the Suffrage party, took possession of the State 
arsenal ; the militia were called out Ly the other party, 

1843. and he was compelled to flee. In a second attempt liis 
May . 

ly party was overpowered by United States troops, and he 

himself arrested, brought to trial, convicted of treason, 
and sentenced to imprisonment for life ; but sometime 
afterward he was jjardoned. A free constitution was in 
the mean time adopted by the people, under which they 
are now living. 

Almost the last official act of President Tyler was to 
sign the bill for the admission of Iowa and Florida into 
the Union. " Two States, which seem to have but few 
things in common to put them together — one the oldest, 
the other the newest territory — one in the extreme north- 
west of the Union, the other in the extreme south-east — 
one the land of evergreens and perpetual flowers, the other 
the climate of long and rigorous winter — one maintaining, 
the other repulsing slavery." 



CHAPTEE LI. 

POLK'S ADMINISTRATION. 

The Presidential Canvass. — Difficulties with Mexico. — General Taylor at 
Corpus Christi. — Oregon Territory ; respective Claims to. — Settlement 
of Boundary. — Taylor marches to the Rio Grande. — Thornton's Party 
surprised. — Attack on Fort Brown. — Battle of Palo Alto ; of Resaca 
de la Palma. — ilatamoras occupied. — Measures of Congress. — The 
Volunteers. — Plan of Operations. — Mexico declares War. — General 
Wool. — General Worth. — The Capture of Monterey. 

On the 4tli of March, James Knox Polk, of Tennessee, chap. 
' ' 'LI. 



was inaugurated President, and George Mifflin Dallas, of 
Pennsylvania, Vice-President ; James Buchanan was ap- 1845. 
pointed Secretary of State. 

The canvass had been one of unusual interest and 
spirit. The candidates of the Whig party were Henry 
Clay and Theodore Frelinghuysen. The questions in- 
volved were the admission of Texas, and the settlement 
of the boundary line on the north-west, between the 
British possessions and Oregon. The latter — for the 
Whigs were also in favor of its settlement — thrown in by 
the successful party. 

The result of the election was assumed to be the ex- 
pression of the will of the people in relation to the ad- 
mission of Texas, which measure, as we have seen, the 
expiring administration had already consummated. We 
have now to record the events, the consequences in part 
of that measure. 

Though France and England, as well as the United 



694 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. States, acknowledged the indeijendence of Texas, Mexico 

still claimed the territory, and threatened to maintain 

1845. her claim hy force of arms. In accordance with this 
sentiment, two days after the inauguration of the new 
President, General Almonte, the Mexican minister at 
Washington, formally protested against the "joint reso- 
lutions" of Congress, then demanded his passports and 
left the country. 

There were other points of dispute hetween the two 
governments. American merchants residing in Mexico, 
complained that their property had heen approjn-iated by 
that government ; that their shijjs, trading along the 
shores of the G-ulf, had been plundered, and they could 
obtain no redress. The United States government again 
and again remonstrated against these outrages. The 
Mexican government, poverty-stricken and distracted by 
broils, was almost in a state of anarchy ; each party as it 
came into power repudiated the engagements made by its 
predecessor. 
1831. A treaty had been signed by which redress for these 
grievances was promised ; the promise was not fulfilled, 
and the aggressions continued. Nine years later the 
Mexican government again acknowledged the justness of 
these demands, which now amounted to six millions of 
dollars, and pledged itself to pay them in twenty instal- 
ments, of three hundred thousand dollars each. Three of 
these had been paid, when the annexation of Texas took 
place, and, in consequence of that event, Mexico refused 
further compliance with the treaty. 

Even if Mexico gave her consent for the annexation 
of Texas, another question arose : What was the western 
boundary of that territory ; the Nueces or the Rio 
Grande ? Both parties claimed the region lying between 
these two rivers. The Legislature of Texas, alarmed at 
the warlike attitude assumed by Mexico, requested the 
United States government to protect their territory. Ac- 



TAYLOR AT CORPUS CHRISTI THE OREGON QUESTION. 695 

cordingly the President sent General Zachary Taylor, -with chap. 
fifteen hundred men, called the " Army of Occupation," 



" to take position in the countiy between the Nueces and 1845. 
the Kio Grande, and to repel any invasion of the Texan 
territory." General Taylor formed his camp at Corpus 
Christi, a small village at the mouth of the Nueces. There Sept. 
he remained till the following spring. Also a portion of 
the Home squadron, under Commodore Conner, was sent 
into the Gulf to co-operate with the army. Both " were 
ordered to commit no act of hostility against Mexico un- 
less she declared war, or was herself the aggressor by 
striking the first blow." ' 

Though Mexico, in her weakness and distraction, had 
temjjorized and recently rejected an American minister, 
yet it was understood that she was now willing to receive 
one, and accordingly he had been sent. It was plain that 
upon the pending negotiations war or peace between the 
two republics depended. Meanwhile it was known that 
Mexico was marshalling her forces for a conflict. 

The unsettled question in relation to the boundary of 
Oregon now engaged the attention of the President and 
his Secretary of State. Great Britain was from the first 
desirous to arrange the difficulty, though, as has been 
stated, the subject was passed over in the negotiations of 
the Washington treaty. 

A few months after the ratification of that treaty, Mr. 
Henry S. Fox, the British minister at Washington, ad- l^^^' 
dressed a note to Daniel Webster, Secretary of State 
under Mr. Tyler, in which note he proposed to take up 
the subject of the Oregon boundary. The proposal was 
accepted, but for some reason negotiations were not com- 
menced. Two years later. Sir Eichard Packenham, then 
British minister at Washington, renewed the proposition 

' President's Message, Dec. 1845. 



696 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, to Mr. Upshur, Secretaiy of State. It was accei^ted, but 

a few days after Upshur lost his life by the lamentable 

1844. explosion on board the Princeton. Six months later 

■ Packenham again brought the matter to the notice of 

Mr. Calhoun, then Secretary of State. The proj)osition 

was promptly accepted, and the next day named for 

taking up the subject. 

The claims of the respective parties may be briefly 
noticed. The region known as Oregon lay between the par- 
allels of forty-two and fifty-four degrees and forty minutes 
north latitude, the Kocky Mtmntains on the east, and the 

1819. Pacific Ocean on the west. By the Florida Treaty, Spain 
had ceded to the United States all her territory north of 
the parallel first mentioned ; commencing at the sources of 
the Arkansas and thence to the Pacific, and Mexico, hav- 
ing thrown off the yoke of Spain, since confirmed by treaty 

1828. the validity of the same boundary. The parallel of fifty- 
four degrees forty minutes was agreed upon by the United 
States, Great Britain, and Kussia, as the southern bound- 

1^1^' ary of the jiossessions of the latter power. 

The American claim was based upon the cession of 
Spain, who was really the first discoverer ; the discovery of 

1792. Captain Gray, already mentioned ; the explorations of Lewis 
and Clarke, sent by the government of the United States ; 
and the settlement established at the mouth of the Colum- 
bia Eiver, by John Jacob Astor of New York. Lewis and 

J^Qg' Clarke, during Jeflerson's administration, crossed the 
Bocky Mountains, came upon the southern main branch 
of the Columbia, and exploied that river to its mouth. 
The British claim was also based on discovery, and 

1800. actual settlement founded by the North-West Company, 
on Eraser's Kiver, and also another on the head-waters of 
the north branch of the Columbia. 

1844. Calhoun came directly to the point, and proposed as 

the boundary the continuation of the forty-ninth degree 



1811. 



I 



THE OREGON BOUNDARY SETTLED. 697 

of north latitude to the Pacific. This line had already chap. 

been agreed upon between the United States and Great 

Britain by the treaty made at London, as the boundary 1844. 
of their respective territories from the Lake of the Woods isis. 
to the summit of the Rocky Mountains. Packenham, 
unwilling to accept that line, proposed to foUow the forty- 
ninth degree from the mountains — some three hundred 
miles — until it should strike the north branch of the Co- 
lumbia river, and thence down that stream to the ocean. 
The American Secretary declined this, and as the British 
minister had no further instructions, the consideration of 
the subject was postponed. 

Meantime the Presidential canvass was in progress, 
and " all of Oregon or none " became one of the watch- 
words of the Democratic party. So long as these senti- 
ments were proclaimed by partisan leaders and newspapers, 
they were harmless ; but when the new President, in his 
inaugural address, asserted that our title to " Oregon Ter- 
ritory " " was clear and indisputable," and moreover inti- 
mated that it was his intention to maintain it by arms, 
the question assumed a far different aspect. 

The position thus officially taken, when the subject 
of the boundary was under negotiation, took the British 
Government by surprise, especially since hitherto each 
party had courteously recognized the other's claim to a 
portion of the territory. Four months passed. Meantime 
the good feeling existing between the two governments 
was seriously disturbed ; England did not again offer to 
negotiate. A mere partisan watchword was in danger of 
involving both nations in war. At length the President 
himself, directed the Secretary of State to reopen nego- 
tiations by offering as the boundary the forty-ninth par- 
allel ; but the projiosition was not accepted by the British 
minister. 

To prepare the way for further negotiation, the Presi- 



698 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, (lent tlicu recommended that the joint occupation of the 
territory should he abrogated, hy giving the twelve 

1844. months' notice, according to a provision in the treaties of 
1818 and 1828. Congress voted to give the notice. 

Sir Robert Peel expressed in Parliament his regret 
that the last offer of the American Secretary had not been 
accepted, and soon after the British minister, Packenham, 
communicated to the Secretary of State the information 
that his government would accept the parallel of forty- 
nine, as recently offered. 

The case admitted of no delay. The President was 
anxious to relieve himself of the responsibility of acting on 
the proposition. ii the suggestion of Senator Benton, of 
Missouri, he, following the example of Washington, con- 
sulted the Senate on the propriety of accepting this last 
proposition, pledging himself to be guided by their decision. 
That body decided to accept it, " and gave the President 
a faithful support against himself, against his cabinet, and 
against his peculiar friends." 

Presently the treaty was sent into the Senate, when, 
after a spirited debate for two days, it was ratified.' By 
this treaty, the parallel of forty-nine degrees North lati- 
tude was agreed upon as the boundary to the middle of 
the channel between Vancouver's Island and the Con- 
tinent, and thence southerly through the middle of the 
Straits of Fuca to the ocean : — also the navigation of the 
Columbia Eiver, and its main northern branch, was left 
free to both parties. 

1846. We left General Taylor at Corpus Christi, on the west 

bank of the Nueces. He now received orders from Wash- 

Feb. ington, to move to the Eio Grande, and establish a fortified 
camp and fort on the bank opposite the town of Mata- 
moras, as in the vicinity of that place Mexican troops 
were assembling in great numbers, with the intention, it 

' Benton's Thirty Tears' View, Vol. ii. Chaps. 156-7-8-9. 



MEXICO THREATENS WAR — THORNTON'S PARTY SURPRISED. 699 

was said, of invading Texas. Leaving the main portion chap. 
of his stores under a guard at Point Isabel, he marched to 



the Kio Grande, and, within cannon shot of Matamoras, 1840. 
estabHshed a camp and built a fort. These movements 
called forth from Mexico strongprotests and threats of 
war. 

When the dispute between the two Kepublics began, 
Herrera was President of Mexico. He was desirous of 
arranging the difficulties by negotiation ; but the war 
spirit prevailed, and at a recent election the Mexican 
peoijle chose for President, Paredes, an uncompromising 
enemy of peace. When he assumed office he sent a large 
force under General Ampudia, to whom he gave orders to 
drive the Americans beyond the Nueces. That officer 
soon after sent a communication to General Taylor, in 
which he warned him of his danger in thus provoking the 
auger of " the magnanimous Mexican nation," and de- 
manded that he should " break up his camp and retire 
beyond the Nueces " within twenty-four hours. Taylor 
replied that he should maintain his position, and carry 
out the instructions of his government, which alone was 
responsible for his presence on the Eio Grande. He con- 
tinued to strengthen his fortification, and to closely watch 
the movements of the Mexicans. Ampudia was at a loss 
how to act ; both commanders were unwilling to light the 
flame of war. 

Paredes, dissatisfied with Ampudia, sent General Arista 
to supersede him. The latter immediately ordered de- 
tachments of Mexican soldiers to occupy j^ositions between 
Point Isabel and the American camp, thus cutting oif 
communication with their stores. 

General Taylor had sent Captain Thornton with a 
party of sixty dragoons to reconnoitre ; the party was 
surprised, sixteen of their number killed, the remainder 
captured. Thornton alone escaped. Here was shed the . .. 
first blood in the Mexican war. 24. 



700 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



CHAP. j^ fe-^v clays later, Captain Walker, the celebrated 

Texan ranger, who with a select company was engaged 

ISiG. in keeping up tlxe communication with Point Isabel, came 
into camp with information that a large force of Mexicans 
was threatening the latter place. Leaving Major Brown 
with three hundred men to defend the fort, Taylor hastened 
to the aid of Point Isabel, which place, after a march of 
twenty-one miles, he reached without ojjposition. 

The Mexicans self-complacently attributed this move- 
ment to fear, and they immediately made preparations to 
attack the fort. Taylor had concerted with Major Brown 
that if the latter should be surrounded or hard i^ressed, 
he should, at certain intervals, fire heavy signal guns. 
jlay The Mexicans opened with a tremendous cannonade 

3. from a battery at Matamoras, while a large force took 
position in the rear of the fort, and began to throw up in- 
trenchments. The little garrison defended themselves 
with great bravery, and not until Major Brown fell mor- 
tally wounded, did the next in command. Captain Haw- 
kins, begin to fire the signal guns. 

The cautious Taylor first put Point Isabel in a state 
of defence, and then set out with a provision train guarded 
by two thousand two hundred and eighty-eight men to re- 
lieve Fort Brown — thus afterward named in honor of its 
commander. The little army was truly in peril ; an 
overwhelming force of the enemy — three to its one — had 
taken a strong position to intercept its march. The 
booming of signal guns still continued, and Taylor ar- 
dently pressed on with the determination to cut his way 
through. Presently he came in sight of the enemy, posted 
Ma\' in front of a chaparral — in which were their reserves — 
^' near a small stream, the Palo Alto. The train was im- 
mediately closed up, and the soldiers refreshed themselves 
from the stream, and filled their canteens. As soon as 
the exact position of the Mexicans was ascertained, the 
American line was formed. Major Einggold's battery was 



BATTLE OF PALO ALTO. 701 

placed on the right, and Duncan's on the left, while the chap. 

eighteen-pouuders were in the centre on the main road. 

The Mexicans commenced the action with their artillery, 1846. 
but at too great distance to reach the American line. The 
latter moved slowly and silently up till within suitable 
range, then the artillery opened, and displayed great skill 
in the rapidity as well as in the accuracy with which each 
gun was handled. The eighteen-pouuders riddled the 
Mexican centre through and through, while Duncan 
scarcely noticed their artillery, but poured an incessant 
stream of balls upon their infantry. Presently the long 
grass in front was set on fire, by the wadding from the 
guns, and the smoke obscured the position of the Mexicans. 
The American batteries groped their way for three-fourths 
of an hour through the burning grass, and when the 
smoke cleared away, they found themselves within range 
of the enemy ; in another moment they opened their guns 
with renewed vigor. At this crisis night came on ; the 
contest had continued for five hours, and was a conflict of 
artillery alone. The only instance when an effort was 
made to change the form of the battle, was when the 
Mexican cavalry endeavored to turn the American flank; 
but the infantiy, with bayonets fixed stood firm and 
awaited the shock ; as the cavalry hesitated to make the 
onset, a discharge from the American artillery decided 
them to wheel and rapidly leave the field. 

Such was the first battle in the Mexican war ; a pre- 
sage of those which were to follow. The enemy lost four 
hundred men, while the Americans had only nine killed 
and forty-four wounded ; but among the former was Major 
Einggold, universally lamented, both as an efficient 
officer and a Christian gentleman. As his ofiicers ofiered 
him assistance, he said : " Leave me alone, you are wanted 
forward." To him was due much of the credit for that 
perfection of drill and rapidity of movement which the 
American Flying Artillery exhibited on battle-fields 



702 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, during this war. The Mexicans manifested here no want 

of courage ; they stood for four or five hours under these 

1846. murderous discharges of grape. 

The Americans encamped on the spot, and at three 
o'clock the next morning were on their march toward 
Fort Brown. Meantime the Mexicans, leaving their dead 
unburied, had disappeared ; but on the afternoon of that 
day they were discovered posted in a strong position be- 
yond a ravine, known as the Dry Kiver of Palms or Kesaca 
de la Palma. They had been reinforced during the night, 
and now numbered seven thousand men. Their right 
and left were protected by dense brush and chaparral, 
while their artillery, placed behind a breastwork and 
beyond the ravine, swept the road for some distance. 
May General Taylor placed his artillery on the road in the 

centre, and ordered divisions on the right and left to 
grojie their way through the chaparral and ferret out with 
the bayonet the Mexican sharpshooters, who were swarm- 
ing in the brush which protected them. 

No order could be observed ; the officers became 
separated from the men ; each soldier acted for himself, 
as he broke his way through the chaparral and probed for 
the Mexicans. The sliar]! twang of the rifle, the duU 
sound of the musket, the deep mutterings of the cannon, 
the shriU cries of the Mexicans, so in contrast with the 
vigorous shouts of the Americans, produced a tremendous 
uproar. The right and left had gradually forced their 
way through the chaparral almost to the ravine, but the 
Mexican battery, handled with great coolness and execu- 
tion, stUl swept the road at every discharge, and held the 
centre in check. That battery, the key of the Mexican 
position, must be taken. General Taylor turned to 
Captain May, of the dragoons, and pointing to the battery, 
said : " You must take it." The captain wheeled his 
horse and shouted to his troops, " Men, we must take that 



BATTLE OF KESACA DE LA PALMA. 703 

battery !" Just then Lieutenant Ridgely suggested to chap. 

May to wait until he -would draw the Mexican fire. The 

moment a portion of their guns were fired, the bugle was 1846. 
heard high above the din, to sound a charge. The atten- 
tion of the combatants was arrested, all eyes were turned 
towai-d the road, along which dashed the horsemen, led 
by their gallant leader. A cloud of dust soon hid them 
from view ; a discharge of the Mexican guns swept away 
one-third of their number, but in a moment more, the 
clashing sabres and the trampling' of men under the horses' 
feet, proclaimed that the battery was taken. The Mexi- 
can cannoneers were paralyzed at the sudden appearance 
of the approaching foe, and before they could recover, the 
dragoons were iipon them. May, with liis own hands, 
captured General La Vega, the commander, who was in 
the act of applying a match to a gun. The dragoons 
then charged directly through the Mexican centre. 

A shout of triumph arose from the American lines, the 
infantry pressed on and took possession of the guns, from 
which the dragoons had driven the men. The entire 
Mexican force, panic-stricken at the sudden onset, broke and 
fled in confusion to the nearest point of the Eio Grande ; 
in their haste to pass over which, numbers of them were 
drowned. 

It was a complete victory. General Arista fled, and 
without a companion, leaving his private papers, as well 
as his public correspondence. All the Mexican artillery, 
two thousand stand of arms, and six hundred mules, fell 
into the hands of the Americans. The latter lost one 
hundred and twenty- two, and the Mexicans twelve hun- 
dred. 

We may well imagine the emotions with which the 
little garrison, exhausted by the exertions of six days' in- 
cessant bombardment, listened to the sound of the battle, 
as it drew nearer and nearer ; first was heard the cannon, 
then the musketry ; then the smoke could be seen floating 



704 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAi' above the distant trees ; now Mexicans here and there 
___ appeared in full flight ; presently the victorious American 
1846. cavaliy came in sight, and the men mounted the ramparts 
and shouted a welcome. 

General Taylor advanced to Fort Brown, then in a 
few days crossed the Rio Grande, and took possession of 
„ Matamoras. The Mexicans had withdrawn the previous 
18. evening and were in full march toward Monterey. The 
American commander took pains not to change or inter- 
fere with the municipal laws of the town ; the people 
enjoyed their civil and religious j^rivileges. They were 
paid good prices for provisions, which they furnished in 
abundance ; yet there was evidently in their hearts a 
deep-toned feeling of hatred toward the invaders. 

Meanwhile intelligence of the capture of Captain 
Thornton's reconnoitring party had reached the United 
States, and the rumor that Mexican soldiers, in over- 
powering numbers, were between the Nueces and the Rio 
Grande. 

The President immediately sent a special message to 
Congress, in which he announced that " war existed by 
May the act of Mexico ; " but surely it was an " act " of self- 
defence on the part of the Mexicans, and made so by the 
advance of an American army ujjon disputed soil, that had 
been in their possession and that of their fathers' fathers. 

The President called upon Congress to recognize the 
war, to appropriate the necessary funds to carry it on, and 
to authorize him to call upon the country for volunteers. 
Congress, anxious to rescue the army from danger, ap- 
propriated ten millions of dollars, and empowered the 
President to accept the services of fifty thousand volun- 
teers ; one-half of whom to be mustered into the army, 
and the other half kept as a reserve. War was not for- 
mally declared, yet the war spirit aroused was unprece- 
dented. Throughout the land public meetings were held, 



11 



PLAN OF OPERATIONS MEXICO DECLARES WAR. 705 

and in a few weeks two hundred tliousand volunteers had *^^|P- 

ofi'ered their services to rescue the gallant little army 

from its perils, and, if necessary, to prosecute the war. 1846. 
Notwithstanding these warlike indications, great diversity 
of opinion prevailed among the people, hoth as to the 
justness of the war, or the expediency of appealing to 
that terrible arbiter, when all the results demanded might 
be obtained by negotiation. 

On the suggestions of Major-General Scott, a plan of 
operations, remarkably comprehensive in its outlines, was 
resolved upon by the government. A powerful fleet was 
to sail round Cape Horn, and to attack the Mexican ports 
on the Pacific coast in concert with a force, styled the 
"Army of the West," which was to assemble at Fort 
Leavenworth, on the Missouri, then to cross the great 
plains and the Rocky Mountains, and in its progress re- 
duce the northern provinces of Mexico. Another force, 
" The Army of the Centre," was to penetrate to the heart 
of the Republic by way of Texas, and if deemed best, co- 
operate with the force under Taylor, known, as we have 
said, as the " Army of Occupation." The latter part of 
the plan was afterward modified, and the country was 
penetrated by way of Vera Cruz. 

The api^rehensions of the people for the safety of their 
little army, gave way to a feeling of exultation, when the 
news reached them that it had met and repelled its 
numerous assailants. The war spuit was not diminished 
but rather increased by this success. Congress manifested 
its gratification by conferring upon Taylor the commission 
of Major-General by brevet. 30. 

, On the other hand the Mexican people and govern- 
ment were aroused, and on the intelligence of these dis- 
asters, war was formally declared against the United May 
States, and the government commenced to prepare for the ^^• 
contest. 

45 



706 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

^hi^' Greneral John E. Wool, a native of New York, who 

had seen service in the war of 1812, and distinguished 

1S46. himself at Queenstown Heights, was commissioned to 
drill the volunteers. By the most untiring diligence he 
had, in the short space of six weeks, inspected and taken 
into the service twelve thousand men, nine thousand of 
whom were hurried off to reinforce General Taylor, while 
the remainder marched under his own command to San 
Antonio, in Texas, there to be in readiness to act accord- 
iug to circumstances. 

General Taylor remained three months at Matamoras, 
his operations restricted for want of men, but as soon as 
reinforcements reached him, he prepared to advance into 
the country, in accordance with orders received from 
Washington. He sent in advance General William J. 
Worth, with the first division toward Monterey, the 
capital city of New Leon. Worth took his first lessons 
in warfare in 1812. From love of military life, when a 
mere youth he enlisted as a common soldier, but his ready 
talents attracted the attention of Colonel, now General 
Scott, and from that day his promotion began. A fort- 
Aug. night later, leaving General Twiggs in command at Mata- 
moras, Taylor himself moved with the main division, — 
more than six thousand men, — and the entire army en- 
9^ ' camped within three miles of the doomed city. 

Monterey was an old city built by the Spaniards nearly 
three centuries ago. In a fertile valley, hedged in by 
high mountains, it could be approached only in two direc- 
tions ; from the north-east toward Matamoras, and from 
the west by a road, which passed through a rocky gorge, 
toward Saltillo. The city, nearly two miles in length by 
one in breadth, had three large plazas or squares ; the 
houses, built in the old Spanish style, were one story 
high, with strong walls of masonry rising three or four 



MONTEREY AND ITS FORTIFICATIONS. 707 

feet above their flat roofs. The city itself was fortified hy chap. 
massive walls, and on its ramparts were forty-two pieces 



of heavy artiUeiy, while from the mountain tops, north of 1846. 
the town, the Americans could see that the flat roofs of 
the stone houses were converted into places of defence, 
and bristled with musketry, and that the streets were 
rendered impassable by numerous barricades. On the one 
side, on a hill, stood the Bishop's Palace, a massive stone 
building, strongly fortified, on the other were redoubts 
weU manned, in the rear was the river San Juan, south 
of which towered abrupt mountains. Such was the ap- 
pearance and strength of Monterey, garrisoned as it was 
by ten thousand troops, nearly all regulars, under the 
command of General Ampudia. It was now to be assailed 
by an army of less than seven thousand men. 

Ten days elapsed before the vicinity of the town 
could be thoroughly reconnoitred. In the afternoon. 
General Worth was ordered, with six hundred and fifty Jg ' 
men, to find his way around the hill occupied by the 
Bishop's Palace, gain the Saltillo road, and carry the 
works in that direction, wlule a diversion would be made 
against the centre and left of the town, by batteries 
erected during the night. The impetuous Worth, by great 
exertions, accomplished his purpose, by opening a new road 
over the mountains. In one instance he came to a small 
stream in a deep gully, the bridge over which had been 
broken down. A neighboring field furnished the material ; 
his men soon filled the chasm, and passed over on a com- 
stalk-bridge. 

The next morning the batteries erected the night be- 
fore opened upon the enemy, who replied with a hearty 
good will. At length, after hard fighting, one of the Mexi- 
can works of great strength, situated in the lower part of 
the town, was captured. The brigade under General Sept. 
Quitman, of the Mississippi Volunteers, " carried the work 



20. 



708 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP in handsome style, as well as the strong building in its 

rear." General Butler had also entered the town on the 

1846. right ; both of these positions were maintained. 

While these operations were in progress, General 

Worth succeeded in gaining the SaltUlo road, and thus 

cut oif the enemy's communication with the west. He 

carried, in succession, the heights south of the river and 

road, and immediately turned the guns uj)on the Bishop's 

Palace. 

During the night, the Mexicans evacuated their works 

in the lower town ; but the next day they kept up a i^ig- 

orous fire from the Citadel. The following morning at 

dawn of day, in the midst of a fog and drizzling rain. 

Worth stormed the crest overlooking the Bishop's Palace, 

Sept. and at noon, the Palace itself fell into the hands of the 
23 . 

Americans. Yet the city, with its fortified houses, was 

far from being taken. " Our trooj^s advanced from house 
to house, and from square to square, until they reached a 
street but one square in the rear of the principal plaza, 
in and near which the enemy's force was mostly concen- 
trated.'" The Americans obtained the plaza, then forced 
the houses on either side, and, by means of crowbars, tore 
down the walls, ascended to the roofs, then drew up one 
or two field-pieces, and drove the enemy from point to point 
till the city capitulated. 

The carnage was terrible. The shouts of the com- 
batants, mingled with the wail of suffering women and 
children, presented a scene so heart-rending that even the 
demon of war might be supposed to turn from it in horror. 

The Mexicans had effectually barricaded their streets, 
but these were almost undisturbed, while the invaders 
burrowed from house to house. The conflict continued 
for almost four days, in which the Mexicans fought 
desperately from behind their barricades on the house- 

' Gen. Taylor's Report. 



CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES. 709 

tops, where they did not hesitate to meet the invaders of ^^^P- 
their hearthstones hand to hand. 



The following morning Ampudia surrendered the town 1846. 
and garrison. The Mexican soldiers were permitted to 24.' 
march out with the honors of war. 

General Taylor was assured that those in authority 
at the city of Mexico were desirous of peace. In conse- 
quence of these representations, and also of his want of 
provisions, he agreed to a cessation of hostilities for eight 
weeks, if his government should sanction the measure. 

He now left General Worth in command of the city, 
and retired with the main force of the army to Walnut 
Springs, about three miles distant, and there encamped. 



CHAPTEE LII. 

POLK'S ADMINISTRATION— CONTINUED. 

The President hopes for Peace. — Santa Anna. — Hostilities to be renewed. — 
Troops withdrawn from General Taylor. — Letter from General Scott. — 
Volunteers arrive at Monterey. — Despatches intercepted. — Santa 
Anna's Plans and Preparations. — Taylor advances to Agua Kueva. — 
Battle of Buena Vista. — Its Consequences. 

CHAP. Those in power at Washington had hoped, indeed, it was 
. confidently predicted, that the war woxild be ended within 



184:6. "ninety" or " one hundred and twenty days" from its 
commencement, and a peace conchided, that " should give 
indemnity for the past and security for the future." These 
desirable ends were to be attained by treaty, through the 
means of that incomparable patriot, Santa Anna, then 
an exile in Havana, who jiromised, for a certain considera- 
tion, if restored to authority in Mexico, to exert his influ- 
ence in favor of peace. A secret messenger from Wash- 
ington had made to the " illustrious exile " overtures to 
this eifect, about the time that General Taylor was or- 
dered to the Kio Grande ; the special act which led to hos- 
tilities.' 

In his next annual message the President gives some 

l)ec. information on this subject. " Santa Anna," said that docu- 
ment, " had expressed his regret that he had subverted 
the Federal Constitution of his country," and " that he 

' Benton's " Thirty Years' View," Vol. ii. pp. 561 and 681-2. 



SANTA ANNA AND HIS PROFESSIONS. 711 

was now in favor of its restoration." He was also opposed ^f(i^- 

to a monarchy, or "European interference in the affairs 

of his country." The President cherished the hope that 1846. 
the exiled chief would " see the ruinous consequences to 
Mexico of a war with the United States, and that it woidd 
be his interest to favor peace ; " and further the Message 
said, that Paredes, then President of Mexico, was " a sol- 
dier by profession, and a monarcliist in principle ; " the 
sworn enemy of the United States, and urgent to prosecute 
the war. Santa Anna, on the contrary, was in favor of 
peace, and only wanted a few millions of dollars to bring 
about that object so dear to his patriotism ; hence the 
hopes that the war would be brought to a close in three or 
four months. It was with this expectation that the Presi- 
dent, in a special message, asked of Congress an appropria- -'^"?- 
tion of two millions of dollars " in order to restore peace, 
and to advance a portion of the consideration money, for 
any cession of territory " which Mexico might make. It 
was also in accordance with this arrangement, that, on the 
very day Congress, at his suggestion, recognized the " ex- May 
istence of the war," he issued an order to Commodore 
Connor, who was in command of the fleet in the Gulf, to 
permit Santa Anna and his suite to return to Mexico. 
The latter availed himself of this j^assport to land at Aug. 
Vera Cruz. ^• 

President Polk had been duped. Santa Anna never 
intended to fulfil his }}romise, except so far as to forward 
his own selfish ends. Instead of endeavoring to conciliate 
the hostile countries and obtain peace, he devoted all 
his energies to arouse the war spirit of his countrymen ; 
called upon them to rally under his banner and save their 
nationality ; issued flaming manifestos expressing the 
most intense hatred of the people of the United States, 
and his righteous indignation at the wrongs imposed on 
his country by the " perfidious Yankees." 



712 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

^Ln^' "^^^ extravagant jDrofessions of patriotism were not 

without effect ; his countrymen deposed Paredes, and 

1846. elected him President. Though they had been unfortu- 
nate in the field, their spirits revived, and in a few months 
he had an army of twenty thousand men concentrated at 
San Luis Potosi. 



Dec. 



Meanwhile Greneral Wool had marched from San 
Sept. Antonio. His indefatigable labors had converted the vol- 
unteers under his care into well-drilled soldiers. Part of 
their way was through a region but thinly inhabited and 
without roads, and across a desert in which they suffered 
much for water. A laborious march of six weeks brought 
him to Monclova, seventy miles from Monterey — here he 
learned of the capture of the latter place. It was now 
arranged that he should take position in a fertile dis- 
trict in the province of Durango, that would enable him 
to obtain supplies for his own men, and the army under 
General Taylor. The inhabitants cheerfully furnished 
provisions, for which they were joaid promptly, and in 
truth received more favor than they had recently ex- 
perienced at the hands of their own rulers, as General 
Wool kept his men under strict discipline and scru]iulously 
protected the persons and property of the Mexicans. 

The cessation of hostilities, by orders from Washing- 
ton, ceased on the 13th of November. Two days later 
Nov. General Worth took possession of Saltillo, the capital of 
Coahuila, and General Taylor himself, leaving a garrison 
in Monterey under General Butler, marched toward the 
coast in order to attack Tampico, but as that place had 
Dec. already surrendered to Commodore Connor, he took pos- 
^^- session of Victoria, the capital of Tamaulipas. 

The United States government now prepared to in- 
vade Mexico by way of Vera Cruz. Just as General 
Taylor was ready to commence active operations. Gen- 
eral Scott was about to sail for that place with the 



TBOOPS WITHDRAWN FROM TAYLOR'S ARMY. 713 

intention of capturing it, and then, if 2:ieace could not be ^^A^- 
obtained, to march upon the city of Mexico itself 

To cany out the plan of operations, it was necessary 1846. 
to increase the force under General Scott's immediate 
control. Troops in sufficient numbers could not be drawn 
from the United States, and a portion of Taylor's army 
was ordered to join him before Vera Cruz. He thus in a 
private letter expresses his generous sympathies with the 
latter : " My dear General," says he, " I shall be obliged 
to take from you most of the gallant officers and men 
whom you have so long and so nobly commanded. I am 
afraid that I shall, by imperious necessity — the approach 
of the yellow fever on the Gulf coast — reduce you, for a 
time, to remain on the defensive. This will be infinitely 
painful to you, and, for that reason, distressing to me. 
But I rely upon your patriotism to submit to the tempo- 
rary sacrifice with cheerfulness. No man can better afford 
to do so. Kecent victories place you on that high emi- 
nence." 

General Taylor, though deeply disappointed, at once 
complied with the orders of the government, and detached 
Generals Worth and Quitman with their divisions and the 
greater part of the volunteers brought by General Wool : 
in truth, the flower of his army. These troops were speedily 
on their march from Saltillo toward the Gulf coast. Thus 
Taylor was left with a very small force. During the month 
of January, and a part of February, reinforcements of 1847. 
volunteers arrived from the United States, increasing his 
army to about six thousand; but after garrisoning Monte- 
rey and Saltillo, he had only four thousand seven hundred 
effective men, of whom only sis hundred were regulars. 

General Scott sent Lieutenant Eichey and a guard 
of men with a despatch to General Taylor. The Lieu- 
tenant imprudently left his men, went near a Mexican 
village, was lassoed, dragged from his horse and murdered, 



714 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, and Lis despatches sent to Santa Anna. From these the 
Mexican chief learned the plan for invading his country. 

1847. He promptly decided upon his course of action — a ju- 
dicious one. Trusting that the strength of Vera Cruz, 
and of the Castle San Juan d'Ulloa, would lony; resist the 
enemy, and even if they both should be captured, that the 
fortified places along the road would still retard the ad- 
vance of the Americans upon the capital, he deter- 
mined to direct aU his force against Taylor, who was now 
weakened by the loss of the greater part of his army. 

Santa Anna's difficulties were almost insurmountable. 
The city of Mexico was in confusion, torn by factions. He 
took most extraordinary and illegal measures to enlist 
men and obtain the means for their support; raised money 
by forced loans ; made the church property contribute its 
share of the public expense ; the Priests protested and 
appealed to the superstitions of the people ; he immediately 
seized one of their number, the most factious, and threw 
him into prison, and the rest were intimidated. Thus, 
for nearly four months, he exercised an arbitrary, energetic, 
and iron rule. With a well-organized army of twenty- 

jjjy three thousand men, and twenty pieces of artillery, he com- 

26. menced his march for San Luis Potosi in the direction of 
Saltillo, and within sixty miles south of that jalace he 
halted and prepared for battle. 

Kumors reached General Wool that Santa Anna was 
approaching Saltillo. Major Borland was sent \sith thirty 
dragoons to reconnoitre ; he was joined on his way by 
Major Gaines and Captain Cassius M. Clay, with another 
company of thirty-five men. No enemy appeared, and 
they pushed on during the day, and carelessly encamped 
for the night, but, in the morning, found themselves 
surrounded by one thousand horsemen under the Mexican 
General Minon. They were taken prisoners, and Santa 
Anna sent them, as the first fruits of the campaign, to be 
paraded through the streets of the city of Mexico. 



TAYLOR AT SALTILLO — M'CULLOCK'S ADVENTURE. 715 

General Taylor now advanced from Monterey, and *^^|^^- 

esta,blislied his head-quarters at Saltillo. Leaving there 

his stores, he made a rapid march to Agua Nueva, eighteen 1847. 
miles in advance, on the road to San Luis Potosi, thus to 
secure the southern extremity of the defile through the 
Sierra Nevada, rather than the northern one at Monterey. Feb. 
At the former point the Mexicans must fight or starve, be- 
cause of the barrenness of the country in their rear ; wliile, 
had he remained at Monterey, Santa Anna could have had 
his head-quarters at SaltiUo, and drawn his supplies from 
that comparatively fertile district. 

Scouts reported that General Minon with a large body 
of cavalry was to the left of Agua Nueva, and that the 
American position could be turned. Companies of dra- 
goons from time to time were sent in difierent directions 
to reconnoitre. They at length learned from a " Mexican, 
dressed as a peon," that Santa Anna had arrived in the 
neighborhood with twenty thousand men, and that he in- 
tended to attack the Americans the next morning. 

The clouds of dust toward the east, and the signal 
fires that ])lazed upon the tops of the distant hiUs, seemed 
to confirm the report. But that daring Texan ranger, 
Major McCuUoch, was not satisfied ; and, accompanied by 
some dozen volunteers, he determined to ascertain the 
truth of the "peon's" stoiy. They pushed on across a 
desert of thirty-six miles to Encarnacion, where they ar- 
rived at midnight, and found the enemy in force. Send- 
ins back all his men, save one, McCulloch entered their 
lines, and, undetected, went from point to point, obtained 
more correct information of their numbers, then passed 
out, and escaped to Agua Nueva. 

On the reception of this intelhgence, Taylor, leaving 
a small guard as an outpost, retired up the valley in 
expectation that Santa Anna in hot haste would pursue 
him, while he himself should await his approach at a 
point, which, in passing, he had already noticed. The con- 
jecture was correct. 



716 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

*^Ln^' Santa Anna knew well the position of the Americans. 
He thought they would not retreat, and he resolved to 

1847. surprise them. But between him and Agua Neuva there 
intervened fifty miles, the last thirty-six of which were 
across a desert. His soldiers were each supplied with 
water and provisions ; in the morning the march com- 
menced, and at noon they entered the desert ; in the 
night they halted for a while to refresh, and at dawn they 
were to attack the unsuspecting foe. The march was 
rapid and secret ; the silence of the desert was not dis- 
turbed — not a signal was used, not a drum beat. After 
so much toil he was sadly disajipointed ; his enemy had 
disajipeared. He firmly believed the Americans were in 
full flight, in order to avoid a battle. Some days before 
he had sent General Minon with his cavalry across the 
mountains, to their rear, and he now hoped that Minon 
would be able to hold the fugitives in check until he 
himself could come up with his full force. He halted only 
to refresh his wearied soldiers, and then pursued with all 
his vigor. 

The ground chosen by General Taylor on which to 
make a stand, was the pass — since so famous — known 
among the Mexicans as La Angosturas, or the Narrows. 
It was at the north end of a valley, about twelve miles 
long, and formed by mountains on either side. Here an 
ascent rises to a jilateau, a little more than a mile wide, 
on each side of which rugged mountains, inaccessible to 
artillery or cavalry, rise from two to three thousand feet. 
Numerous ravines or deep gullies, formed by the torrents 
rushing from the mountains during the rainy season, 
rendered the surface in front and on the sides very un- 
even. Neither flank coidd be turned except by light troops 
clambering up the mountains. The plateau was some- 
what rough, with here and there open and smooth places, 
as well as clumps of thorny chaparral. The road through 



22. 



CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE AMERICANS. 717 

the defile passes much nearer to the west thau to the ™^^- 

east side of the Narrows. On this pLiteau, one mile 

south of the hacienda or plantation known as Buena Vista, 1847. 
the American army awaited the approach of the Mexicans. 

Early the following morning clouds of dust, extending 
far down the valley to the south, made known that the 
Mexican army was near and in motion. Soon after, its 
cavalry came in sight and halted for the infantry and 
artillery to come up. 

The long roll of the drum called the Americans to 
arms ; they obeyed the call with hearty cheers. It was 
the anniversary of the birth of Washington, and on the Feb. 
impulse his name was adopted as their watchword. They 
were placed under peculiar circumstances. A few months 
before, they were quietly engaged in the avocations of 
civil life ; enthusiasm had induced them to volunteer, and 
now they were on foreign soil, far from their homes. 
With the exception of a few hundreds, they were all for 
the first time going into battle, with the prospect that to 
them defeat would be certain ruin ; they were about to 
meet an army, in its numbers nearly five to one of their 
own. In the unequal contest, their only hope was in 
their own bravery, and in the skill of their commander. 

The cautions Taylor had gone to SaltiUo, six miles 
distant, to superintend in person the defences designed to 
secure the stores from capture. General Wool was left 
in temporary command at the Narrows, and he directed 
the arrangements of the troops. 

Captain Washington's battery was placed to command 
the road or pass, the key to the position of the army. 
Colonel Hardin's First Illinois regiment was on a ridge to 
the left of the pass, and Colonel McKee's Second Ken- 
tucky on another ridge in their rear. To the left beyond 
these was posted the Second Illinois, under Colonel Bis- 
seU, while still further in the same direction, under the 
mountain, were stationed Colonels YeU and Humphrey 



718 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. Marshall, with the Arkansas and Kentucky volunteers. 
The remainder of the army, including Lane's Indiana 

184:7. brigade ; the Mississippi riflemen, Colonel Jefferson 
Davis ; two squadrons of dragoons, and Sherman and 
Bragg's batteries of flying artillery, were placed in reserve 
on the rear of the plateau. 

During the morning, and beyond the range of the 
American artillery, the main body of the Mexicans was 
also arranged in order of battle. Their right, a battery 
of sixteen-pounders, rested on the base of the mountains. 
These guns were manned by the San Patricio regiment, 
composed of Irish and German deserters from the Ameri- 
can army. Two divisions, Pacheco's and Lombardini's, 
extended in the rear of this battery ; guns, twelve and 
eight-pounders, were posted to the left, and a battalion 
occupied a hill in advance of the main line, directly op- 
posite the pass. Their cavalry was stationed in the rear 
of either flank, and to be unencumbered, the baggage of 
the whole army was left many miles in the rear. 

About noon a Mexican officer brought a note to 
General Taylor. In pompous terms Santa Anna sum- 
moned him to surrender at discretion, and trust himself 
to be treated " with the consideration belonging to the 
Mexican character." In a brief and courteous note the 
American commander declined the proposal. 

Santa Anna noticed that the mountains to the east, 
beyond the American left, were unguarded, and he sent 
General Ampudia, with light troops, around a spur to 
ascend them from the south side. The movement was 
observed, and Colonel Marshall dismounted his own rifle- 
men and those of the Indiana battalion, and commenced 
to ascend to the crest of the ridge. As the lines gradually 
approached each other, skirmishing began. The Mexicans 
kept up a continuous roar of musketry, while the Ameri- 



BATTLE OF BUENA VISTA SKIRMISHING. 719 

cans lay amono; the rocks, wliencc could be heard the chap. 
■^ " . . ' LII. 
sharp crack of their rifles. 

The Mexican batteries occasionally threw a shot, but 1847. 
the Americans on the plateau remained silent ; they 
wished a closer conflict. They were not idle, however, 
but threw up temporary works to protect "Washington's 
battery in front, and also to the right of the pass close up 
to the base of the mountain. Thus passed the afternoon, 
with only severe skirmishing on the mountain sides. 
When night came on the Americans were recalled to the 
plain. The Mexicans remained in jiosition, and the night 
passed without any important demonstration ou either 
side. 

General Minon had passed through the defile, Palo- 
mas Adentro, and in the afternoon appeared with his 
numerous cavalry upon the plains north of Saltillo. Here 
Santa Anna sent him orders to remain, and be in readi- 
ness to fall upon the American forces, which he promised 
to either capture or put to flight the next morning. 

The appearance of Minon caused no little anxiety, and 
General Taylor, after night-fall, hastened to Saltillo with 
aid, to assure himself that any attack upon the stores 
would be repelled. 

During the night Ampudia was reinforced ; and at 
dawn he renewed the attack, and stretched his line farther 
to the right ; but Colonel Marshall, with a portion of the 
Illinois volunteers, maintained his jDOsition, though pressed Feb. 
by superior numbers. 

Soon after sunrise, movements in the Mexican ranks 
indicated that a grand attack was in contemplation. 
Their strength was nearly all thrown toward the Ameri- 
can left, where, owing to the smallness of their number 
and the extent of the ground, the troops were placed at 
greater intervals. The San Patricio battery was also 
brought forward and placed on the ridge in front of the 



23. 



720 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, plateau, wliile three powerful columns of attack were 

arranged — columns composed of the best soldiers of the 

1847. army, and led by its most experienced leaders. As the 
foremost column advanced, General Lane ordered Captain 
O'Brien to hold them in check with his guns, and the 
Second Indiana regiment to support him. O'Brien's shot 
ploughed through their ranks from front to rear, yet the 
Mexicans crowded on till the head of the column was 
literally broken, and thrown into confusion, and refused 
to advance. Lane now ordered O'Brien to move forward 
fifty yards nearer the enemy. The Indiana regiment fol- 
lowed, but came within range of a Mexican battery, which 
opened upon their flank. They were ordered to retreat 
from the face of such overpowering numbers ; the retreat 
unfortunately soon became a flight, which extended quite 
beyond the enemy's guns. Now upon O'Brien's artillery 
was concentrated the entire fire of the Mexican battery 
and Pacheco's column. His horses were soon disabled ; 
not a man of his company but was either killed or wound- 
ed ; he was forced to fall back and leave to the enemy one 
of his guns as a trophy — a trophy which they seemed to 
appreciate very highly. 

These forces now advanced and formed a juncture with 
the division of Lombardini ; the entire body then moved 
against the plateau, and opened a heavy fire ujjon the 
Second Illinois regiment under Colonel Bissell. Four 
companies of Arkansas volunteers had been directed to 
dismount and gain the plateau. They reached it in the 
midst of this conflict, but they soon became panic-stricken 
and fled. The Illinoians, now unsupported, slowly fell 
back. While this was in jjrogress, a portion of the Ken- 
tuckians were forced back, and Ampudia, with his light 
troops, came down the mountain and completely turned 
the American left. The third heavy column, under Mora 
y VillamU, pressed on against Washington's battery on the 
road. He waited till they came within close range, then 



BATTLE OF BUENA VISTA — WHOLE COMPANIES BETKEAT. 721 

poured in his shot with surprising rapidity and terrible *^^;'^P- 

effect ; the head of the column melted away before the 

storm, the whole mass was thrown into confusion, swayed 1847. 
from side to side, then broke and fled, leaving the plain 
covered with a multitude of slain and wounded. 

Just as the three columns of the enemy had failed to 
force the American centre on the plateau, General Taylor, 
accompanied by fresh troops, arrived upon the field ; his 
presence was needed. He brought with him every avail- 
able man that could be si:)ared from Saltillo. They were 
Colonel May's dragoons, a portion of the Mississippi rifle- 
men, and of the Arkansas cavalry. 

The natural advantages of the position had been lost ; 
success depended alone upon the bravery of the troops ; 
many of the officers had fallen, and whole companies of 
the volunteers, both infantry and horse, had left the field, 
and were in disastrous retreat toward Buena Vista, in 
spite of the efforts of General Wool and Colonel Davis, 
and other officers to restrain them. 

The Mexican infantry, supported by their fine cavalry, 
right and left, which made shock after shock, continued 
to press on. By great exertions Davis rallied the majority 
of his regiment, and a part of the Second Indiana ; they 
advanced at a quick stej), but silent until within rifle 
shot ; then gave the approaching foe a destructive fire. 
The Mexicans did not slacken their pace till they came 
almost to the edge of the last ravine between them and 
their enemy, when they halted. The Americans came up 
to the opposite edge ; thus for a while the two forces con- 
fronted each other and fired across the ravine. Presently 
a sliuut along the American line rose high and clear above 
the din ; they delivered their fire, dashed into the ravine, 
lingered a moment to reload, then rose upon the opposite 
crest, in the face of the enemy, and with defiant shouts 
urged home their fire more fearfully than ever. The 
46 



722 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

^HAP. Mexicans, apparently astounded at the apparition which 

was sending death through their ranks, wavered for a few 

1847. minutes, and then in utter confusion rolled back upon the 
column which was advancing to their support. 

Scarcely was Colonel Davis free from this when he 
was assailed by a force coming in another direction. A 
thousand lancers who had not been engaged approached 
along the broad ridge ; they were well supported by in- 
fantry. To meet this new enemy Davis, was aided by the 
Second and Third Indiana regiments. He extended his 
line across the ridge, stationed Ca^Dtain Sherman on his 
left, and placed his men in the form of the letter V, the 
opening toward the approaching lancers. They com- 
menced to advance at a gallop as if to charge their way 
through the centre. But as they drew near they gradually 
slackened their pace ; they expected the Americans would 
fire, and then they would ride them down before they 
could reload their pieces. The latter fired not a gun, but 
awaited their approach. At length the lancers came to a 
walk- at the opening of the angle. The silence seemed to 
fill them with awe ; they were within eighty yards of a 
thousand marksmen, every one of whom could take de- 
liberate aim. At the word, every musket and rifle was 
poised — a moment intervened — then went forth the mes- 
sengers of death. The entire front ranks of the lancers 
were riddled, not a ball appeared to have failed of its 
errand. This was followed by grape and cannister from 
Sherman's battery. The dead and wounded men and 
horses made a barricade of struggling life, over which they 
could not pass. Even at this time, their overpowering 
numbers, had it not been for this obstruction, might have 
enabled them to break through the line and gain the road 
in the rear of the plateau, and thus have modified or 
changed the fortune of the day. But those in the rear 
were appalled at the destruction of their companions, and 
the whole mass fled headlong from the field. As in every 



BATTLE OF BUENA VISTA TORREJON'S REPULSE. 723 

other instance the Americans, for want of numbers and chap. 

cavalry, could not pursue them, and the fugitives passed 

south of the plateau to be re-formed for another attack. ISiT. 

Meantime a squadron of cavalry under Torrejon skirted 
the mountain base to the left, and penetrated to Buena 
Vista, whither the commands of Marshall and Yell had 
retired. General Taylor sent all the cavalry he could 
spare, under Colonel May, to reinforce that point. Tor- 
rejon fell back on his approach, and May returned to the 
plateau. Then Torrejon advanced again : this time the 
volunteers received him with a scattering fire ; but the 
Mexicans, confident in numbers, rode on rapidly toward the 
hacienda ; there they were held in check by a portion of 
the two battalions. It was here that Colonel Yell, as he 
made a charge, was killed at the head of his men. Tor- 
rejon himself was wounded, and Colonel May made his 
ajipearance again, this time with two field-pieces, and the 
Mexicans sejDarated into two divisions and retreated out 
of danger. 

On the plateau the battle had raged in one continuous 
cannonade : the Mexicans had on the ridge in front, a 
battery of eighteen and twenty-four pounders, principally 
manned by the San Patricio regiment, yet they could not 
silence the American guns. At this point there was a 
temporary lull in the storm. 

But on the east side of the valley, to the rear of the 
plateau, a severe conflict was in progress. One of the 
Mexican divisions retreating from Buena Vista, had united 
with a large force sent by Santa Anna to make its way on 
the extreme left round to the American rear. 

Colonel May with his dragoons and a portion of the 
Illinoians and Indianians was engaged in the unequal con- 
test. General Taylor sent to his aid a portion of the ar- 
tillery and the dragoons, with some of the volunteer 
cavaliy. 



724 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. They soon accomplished the object by cutting off the 

retreat of the Mexicans who had passed so far beyond the 

1847. American left. They were driven against the base of the 
mountain and thrown into inextricable confiision. Bra<rfr 
advanced within close canister range, and with their 
wonted rapidity his guns played upon them : the shot 
tore and crashed through the bewildered multitude, and 
those next the mountain endeavored to escape by clam- 
bering up its sides. The whole force, about five thousand, 
became utterly helpless, while the wounded and dying 
were increasing at a fearful rate : the horses frantic with 
pain and terror added to the confusion. A few minutes 
more and they must have lain down their arms ; at this 
crisis, as if to stay the arm of death, a white flag was 
seen approaching from Greneral Taylor's position. When 
it came near the artillery ceased to fire. 

Three Mexican officers had appeared as if for a parley; 
they professed to bear a message from the Mexican chief. 
When brought into the presence of General Taylor they 
wished to know " what he wanted." The reply was the 
surrender of the Mexican army. They asked time for 
consideration ; the trick was not suspected, and the re- 
quest was granted. A messenger bearing a white- flag 
was hastened with orders to Caj^tain Bragg to cease firing, 
as the Mexicans were about to lay down their arms. 

General Wool was deputed to accompany the officers 
to Santa Anna, who took care not to be seen. As Wool 
perceived that the Mexicans continued to fire, though the 
Americans had ceased, he declared the conference at an 
end, and returned to his own army. 

Meanwliile, under the protection of the flag of peace, 
the body of Mexicans in trouble stealthily crept along the 
base of the mountain out of danger, and joined their main 
army south of the plateau. Thus, whether designed or 
not, Santa Anna had extricated his soldiers, and had also 
learned from his spies — the Mexican officers — the small 



BATTLE OF BUENA VISTA — THE LAST ATTACK. 725 

number of American troops — only three regiments of in- ^^^P- 

fantry and three guns — on the plateau, and that their 

main portion was far to the left, whither they had driven 1847. 
the Mexican right wing. Shielding his men from sight 
by ravines and spurs of the mountain, he had for hours 
been concentrating all his strength for a final assault 
upon the American central position at the pass. At 
several points he had met with partial success ; but in 
the main his plans had been frustrated by the indomi- 
table courage, rapid movements, and hard fighting of his 
opponents. 

Having concentrated his forces, he now brought his re- 
serve into action, aided by the troops of the right wing 
which had just been rescued from peril. The whole force — 
twelve thousand strong — the front regiments composed of 
veterans, with General Perez at their head, moved up the 
ascent from the valley. The scattered companies (Illi- 
nois and Kentucky volunteers) in advance of the line were 
taken by surprise at the sudden appearance of the enemy 
in such numbers ; the enemy, which an hour or two be- 
fore they had seen in utter confusion, retreating from the 
field. The multitude, pouring in volley after voUey of 
musketry, pressed on and compelled these companies to 
retire toward the lines. O'Brien was left almost alone 
with his artillery, yet for a time he maintained his place. 
His shot buried themselves in the ranks of the approach- 
ing enemy ; but the mass closed up the gaps and steadily 
came nearer and nearer. For round shot he substituted 
canister, and they were checked for a time ; but it was their 
last struggle to secure the field. Trusting to numbers 
and heedless of death, the mass again moved on. Pres- 
ently there was not an infantry soldier to support the 
guns, nor a horse to draw them; still the gunners stood to 
their places, and retreated only as their pieces recoiled. 
At length overtaken, every officer or gunner either killed 



726 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, or wounded, O'Brien himself among tlie latter, tbey aban- 
doned them to the enemy. 



1847. Meanwhile the companies of volunteers took refuge in 

a deeji ravine to the right of the pass. The Mexicans 
lined its crest and kept upon them a continuous volley of 
musketry, to which they could scarcely reply, while their 
cavalry dashed forward to the mouth of the ravine to cut 
off their retreat. Fortunately the route of the cavalry 
brought them within range of Washington's battery at 
the pass. His guns were immediately brought to bear 
upon them ; they recoiled, relinquished their object, and 
began to retreat, while, by throwing shot over the heads 
of the volunteers who were now moving out, he harassed 
them exceedingly. The Mexican infantry, now unop- 
posed, descended into the ravine, and cruelly murdered 
every wounded man they could find. 

It was in this desperate encounter that Colonels 
Hardin, McKee, and Henry Clay, junior, (son of the dis- 
tinguished statesman,) and great numbers of brave and 
generous men were slain. 

The crisis of the conflict was near. O'Brien overcome 
there was no one to oppose ; and, encouraged by their suc- 
cess, the Mexicans pushed on with unusual vigor. At 
the commencement of this last attack the Americans were 
more or less scattered over the plateau and on the ex- 
tremes of the field ; but the heavy roar of the battle made 
known that the issue of the day was about to be deter- 
mined, and they hastened, of their own accord, to the post 
of danger. 

It was an hour of intense anxiety to General Taylor, 
as he saw this unexpected host advance in such order and 
with such determination. The battle had already lasted 
eight hours ; the toil of so many rapid movements over 
the rough field had wearied his men, while the approach- 
ing enemy's force was fresh, and in number four to one 



THE BATTLK OF BUENA VISTA THE KESTTLT 72T 

of his own. Was it possible to hold them iu check till ^^^P- 

his own troops could come up ? He sent messenger after 

messenger to urge them on. In one direction could be 1847. 
seen Bragg, and in another Sherman, driving with whip 
and spur the jaded horses attached to their batteries ; 
while in the distance to the left of the pass, could be seen 
the Mississippians and Indianians, under their officers 
Davis and Lane, rapidly advancing, now in sight and now 
disappearing as they crossed the deep ravines. 

Bragg was the first to come up. As he drew near he sent 
to ask for infantry to support his guns ; but Taylor could 
only send him word that not a man could be had ; he 
must fight to the death. The Mexicans were rushing on, 
and before he could unlimber his guns they were within a 
few yards of their muzzles ; but his men seemed to be in- 
spired with an energy beyond human, and with a rapidity 
greater than ever, discharge followed discharge. The 
enemy faltered, as if waiting for them to cease but for a 
moment, that they might rush forward and capture them. 
No such moment was granted ; they still hesitated, and 
were thrown into confusion. By this time Sherman came 
up and opened with his wonted effect ; in a few minutes 
more Washington's battery at the pass moved forward 
and did the same. Davis and Lane had just closed with 
the enemy's right flank and commenced to pour in their 
fire. The Mexicans recoiled on all sides ; they could not 
carry the pass ; hope seemed to desert every breast, and 
pell-mell they rushed from the field. 

Thus ended the battle of Buena Vista. It had lasted 
ten hours ; had been a series of encounters, in different 
parts of the field, each one severe in itself, but indecisive 
in result. Never- before had an American army contend- 
ed with such odds, and under disadvantages so great. It 
was won by the superior handUng of the flying artillery, 
which thinned and broke the foremost ranks of the enemy 
before they could bring their superior numbers to bear. 



"728 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. When repulsed, they invariably fell back out of danger, to 
. be again re-formed for another attack, while the Ameri- 



1847. cans, for want of cavaliy and sufficient numbers, could 
not pursue and disperse them beyond the power of rally- 
ing. On the part of the latter the day was one of un- 
remitting toil ; their fewness of numbers, the extent of 
the field, the roughness of the ground, and the numerous 
attacks, forced them to be continually in rapid and 
laborious motion. Grcneral Taylor was in the midst of 
flying balls for eight hours, only one of which passed 
through his coat. He was ably seconded by his officers, not 
one of whom swerved from a post of danger nor neglected a 
duty — especially could this be said of General Wool, who 
seemed to be at every point where he was specially needed. 
The superior skill with which the American guns were 
handled was due to the exertions of the West Point 
officers, who spared no eifort to infuse into the ranks their 
own spirit of discipdine ; and equal honor is due to the 
volunteers, who, with but few exceptions, cheerfully sub- 
mitted to the requisite drudgery of drill. 

The Mexicans hoped to win the battle by musketry 
and charges of cavalry ; their heavy guns they did not 
bring upon the field, but placed them in battery in front 
of the pass. 

The influence of tliis battle was more important than 
any one of the war. It destroyed that fictitious prestige 
which Santa Anna had obtained over his countrymen by 
his vain boastings and unsparing censure of their j^re- 
vious commanders, and it greatly increased their dread 
of the invader's artillery ; henceforth they met them only 
from behind defences, and avoided them in the open field. 

Night closed in. The Americans took every precau- 
tion to repel the attack which was expected the next 
morning. Strong pickets were posted to prevent the 
enemy from passing round to the right or left. The troops 



SANTA anna's RETREAT. 729 

having been supplied with their rations, remained on the ^¥^^- 

field for the night. Fresh companies were brought from 

the rear to supply the place of those who took charge of 1847. 
the wounded, who were carried in wagons to Saltillo. 
The loss of the day had been two hundred and sixty-seven 
killed, and four hundred and fifty-six wounded. Fel). 

The morning dawned, but not a Mexican could be 
seen. Santa Anna had retreated, leaving his wounded to 
their fote, and his dead unburied. More than two thou- 
sand of his men, including many officers of high rank, lay 
scattered over the field. 

Scouts hurried on to reconnoitre ; in an hour or two 
they returned with information that he was far on his way 
toward Agua Nueva. General Taylor and his staff im- 
mediately moved on in the same direction, but sent in 
advance Major Bliss, with a proposition to Santa Anna 
for an exchange of prisoners, and a request that he would 
send for his wounded, as well as another assurance that 
the American government was desirous of peace. An ex- 
change of prisoners took place, but as Santa Anna pro- 
fessed to have no means to remove his wounded, he left 
them to be cared for by the Americans ; as to the propo- 
sition for peace he replied, in his usual style of bravado, 
that he should prosecute the war until the invaders had 
left his country. 

The Mexican soldiers were in a truly deplorable con- 
dition ; they were without hospital supplies, and almost 
literally without food, and no means to obtain it — a desert 
before them, and a victorious enemy in their rear. Santa 
Anna urged on his retreat toward San Luis Potosi, 
whence one month before he had set out sure of victory ; 
desertions had now reduced his great army to a mere 
remnant, and that discouraged by defeat, while confidence 
in his generalship was gone. In addition, signs of another 
revolution were appearing in the city of Mexico, by which 
his enemies might triumph. 



730 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. General Taylor advanced to Agua Nueva ; thence two 

. days later he detached Colonel Belknap, with the dra- 

1847. goons and a regiment of infantry — transported in wagons 
o^ across the desert — to surprise the rear guard of the Mexi- 
can army at Encarnacion. The feat was successfully ac- 
compUshed. All along the way from the battle-field were 
found multitudes of poor Mexican soldiers, left by their 
heartless companions to die of their wounds, hunger, and 
fatigue. As soon as possible the humane Taylor sent 
them provisions, and had those that could be removed 
conveyed to SaltiUo and placed under the care of the 
American surgeons. 

While these operations were in 23rogress, the two 
Mexican generals, Urrea and Eomero, with their corps of 
cavalry, had appeared on the line of communication be- 
tween Saltillo and the Kio Grande. They had captured 
some wagons, tahen some prisoners, and spread alarm all 
along the line. A sufficient force was now sent to chastise 
them, but they rapidly retreated out of danger by the 
pass of Tula, leaving the valley of the Eio Grande to the 
Americans. 

General Taylor, by easy stages, retraced his steps, 
and encamped once more at the Walnut Springs, near 
30. Monterey. 

Whilst the line of communication was broken, vague 
rumors reached the United States, first, that Santa Anna 
was approaching Monterey with a large army, then, that 
the American army had been overpowered. These ap- 
prehensions were greatly increased by a volunteer Colonel 
at Camargo, who, in his alarm, sent an urgent appeal for 
fifty thousand men to be sent immediately to the seat of 
war. Presently came intelhgence of the battle of Buena 
Vista ; and the intense anxiety of the peojile was 
changed to admiration for the men who, under such try- 
ing circumstances, had maintained the honor of their 



Mar. 



GENERAL TAYLOR'S RECEPTION. 731 

country. Gen. Taylor, of whom so little had been known C'aAP. 

before the commencement of this war, rose higher and 

higher in public estimation. Some months later, when 1847. 
he returned to the United States, he was received with 
demonstrations of the highest respect. 



CHAPTER LIII. 

POLK'S ADMINISTRATION— CONTINUED. 

Emigration to Oregon. — John C. Fremont ; his Explorations ; his diffi- 
culties with the Mexican Governor. — American Settlers in alarm. — 
California free from Mexican Kulc. — Monterey on the Pacific captured. 
— Commodores Sloat and Stockton. — Kearney's Expedition. — Santa 
F6 taken ; a Government organized. — Doniphan's Expedition. — Various 
Conflicts. — Chihuahua occupied. — An Insurrection ; its Suppression. — 
Trial of Fremont. 

^Lm' '^^^ importance of securing Oregon by settlement had 

especially attracted the attention of the people of the 

1842. Western States. The stories of hunters, and the glowing 
descri2)tions given in the newspapers of that distant region, 
imbued the minds of the adventurous with an enthusiasm 
as ardent as that which glowed in the breasts of the earlier 
explorers and settlers of this country two and a half 
centuries before. A thousand emigrants, consisting of 
men, their wives and children, driving before them theii* 
flocks and herds, their only weapon the trusty rifle — alike 
to protect from savage violence and to procure sustenance 
from the wandering droves of buffalo and deer — set out 
from the confines of Missouri. They passed up the long 
eastern slope of the Eocky Mountains, over them through 
the South Pass, thence to Lewis' Eiver and down it to the 
Columbia, on whose shores they found a resting place, 
after a toilsome journey of sis months, through an un- 
trodden moimtainous region. 

These emigrants were followed the nest year by 



COLONY ON THE COLUMBIA — FREMONT. V33 

another company, consisting of two thousand, who passed chap. 
over the same route. 



These enterprising settlers, with the few who had pre- 1843. 
ceded them, labored under many difficulties, as the United 
States government did not exercise the jurisdiction which 
it claimed over the territory. A bill introduced into the 
Senate, granted lands to actual settlers, and made pro- 
vision to maintain their rights as citizens by extending 
over them the laws of the territory of Iowa. Though this 
bill passed only the Senate, it gave encouragement to 
those i^ersons who desired to emigrate to the banks of the 
Columbia. A colony thus planted by private enterprise, 
and thus slightly encouraged by the government, became 
the germ of another State, (Oregon) now added to the 1859- 
Union. 

It was in connection with this awakened spirit of 
emigration that Colonel John C. Fremont, then a lieu- 
tenant, made his first exploring expedition. He was a 
young man, once friendless and unknown, but had risen 
by his own talents and industry, and on the recommenda- 
tion of Poinsett, then Secretary of War, had been ap- 
pointed in the Topographical Engineers by President Jack- 
son. Fremont solicited and obtained permission from the 
government to explore the Rocky Mountains and their 
passes, but at this time with special reference to the 
South Pass and its vicinity. In six months he retmned ; 
he had accurately determined the location of that Pass, 
which now became a fixed point in the path of emigration 
to Oregon. 

Soon after his return, Fremont again asked for orders 
to prosecute stiU further explorations in that distant 
region. They were given ; but after his preparations 
were made, and he and liis party had reached the frontiers 
of Missouri, the government countermanded his orders, on 



734 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, flie singular iilea that he had armed his party, in addition 
LIII. . . . . 
to their rifles, with a small mountain howitzer. But for- 

1813. tunately for science and the country, the letter containing 
the order came to Mrs. Fremont, whom he had requested 
to examine his letters and forward only those he ought to 
receive. She deemed the government countermand one 
hat he ought not to receive, and Fremont knew nothing 
of its existence until he returned from his eventful tour. 
On his return he was received with honor, his conduct ap- 
proved, and on the recommendation of the Secretary of 
War, William Wilkins, the brevet of captain was con- 
ferred upon him by President Tyler. 

He had received special orders to survey the route of 
travel from the frontiers of Missouri to the tide-waters 
of the Columbia. This was accomplished by the first of 
November, after six months' labor, though often he diverged 
from the main route to make useful observations. He now 
resolved to return immediately, and when on the way to ex- 
plore the vast territory which must lie between the route 
he had passed over and the Pacific. To pass through this 
region in midwinter was no easy matter. Soon deep 
snows appeared on the highlands, and the party descended 
into the valley, now known as the Great Basin, out of 
wliich flows no stream. On the west, the mountains 
loomed up with their snowy tops ; every thing was strange ; 
the Indians, terrified at the approach of white men, fled : 
a desert appeared, and with it the vision of starvation 
and death. No place could they find, as they had hoped, 
where they might winter and derive their sustenance from 
hunting the animals of the forest. They passed down to 
the latitude of San Francisco, as found by astronomical 
observations ; but between them and that place, the 
nearest point where they could obtain aid from civilized 
man, rose mountains, their snowy tops piercing the clouds ; 
their sides frowning precijiices thousands of feet high. No 
Indian would act as a guide through their passes. The 



THE RESULTS OF THE EXPLORATION. 735 

whole party, by excessive toil and want of food, were re- ^^,ff- 

duced to skeletons, both men and horses. Finally they 

" crawled over the Sierra Nevada," and arrived at the 1843. 
head- waters of the Sacramento. " In this eventful ex- 
ploration, all the great features of the western slope of 
our continent were brought to light — the Great Salt Lake, 
the Utah Lake, the Little Salt Lake — at all which places, 
then desert, the Mormons now are ; the Sierra Nevada, 
then solitary in the snow, now crowded with Americans, 
digging gold from its banks ; the beautiful valleys of the 
Saci-amento and San Joaquin, then alive with wild horses, 
elk, deer, and wild fowls, now smiling with American 
cultivation. The Great Basin itself, and its contents ; 
the Three Parks ; the approximation of the great rivers 
which, rising together in the central region of the Rocky 
Mountains, go off east and west towards the rising and 
the setting sun, — all these, and other strange features of 
a new region, more Asiatic than American, were brought 
to light, and revealed to public view in the results of this 
exploration." ' 

In May, Fremont set out on his third expedition to 1845. 
explore still further the Great West. There were now 
indications that war would soon result between Mexico 
and the United States. But to avoid exciting the sus- 
picions of the Mexicans, he obtained permission from 
General De Castro, commandant at Monterey on the 
Pacific, to pass the following winter in the uninhabitable 
portion of the vaUey of the San Joaquin. But before 
long, De Castro professed to believe that his object was 
not scientific exploration, but to excite a rebellion among 
the American settlers, and he undertook to either drive 
him out of the country or capture the whole party. A 
messenger, secretly sent by the United States consul at 

' Benton's Thirty Years' View, Vol. ii. Chap. 134. 



736 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

tjHAP. Monterey, Mr. Larkin, suddenly api^eared in Ms camjj and 
informed Lim of these unfriendly designs. Fremont im- 

1845. diately cbose a strong position on a mountain, raised the 
American flag, and he and his sixty determined followers 
resolved to sell their lives as dearly as possible. After 
waiting four days, as De Castro hesitated to attack his 
camj), he came down from the moimtain and set out for 
Oregon through the region of the Tlamath lakes. 

1846. During the former part of May he was overtaken by a 
United States officer. Lieutenant GiUespie, who brought 
a letter of introduction from James Buchanan, Secretary 
of State, and verbal instractions to the effect that he 
should counteract any foreign scheme on California, and 
conciliate the good will of the inhabitants toward the 
United States. 

Fremont was now on the confines of Oregon, but at 
once he turned back to California. When he arrived in 
the valley of the Sacramento, he found the whole com- 
munity in a state of great excitement. Among the 
Mexicans two projects were in contemplation : one to 
massacre the American settlers ; the other to place Cali- 
fornia under British protection, and thus shield them- 
selves against the arms of the United States in case of a 
war with Mexico. 

A deputation from the American settlers hastened to 
lay before him a statement of these facts ; and, in addition, 
that the Indians had been incited against them ; that 
General Do Castro was on his march to attack them, and 
also that a British fleet was daily expected upon the 
coast. 

Though the countries were at peace when he left home, 
the approach of De Castro with a hostile army demanded 
decisive measures, and Fremont accepted the trust in 
self-defence. The American settlers flocked to his camp, 
brought their horses, their ammunition, their provisions, 



COMMODORE SLOAT CAPTURES MONTEREY. 737 

and submitted cheerfully to the strictness of military dis- ™ap. 
cipline. 

In one month's time, after a few conflicts, Mexican 1846. 
rule was at an end in northern California. The flag of j°® 
independence was raised, its device a grizzly hear — indi- , _ 
cative of indomitable courage — while General Do Castro 4." 
was retreating, and all other schemes completely prostated. 

Commodore Sloat, commanding on the Pacific, received 
directions from the Secretary of the Navy, George Ban- 
croft. " If you ascertain with certainty," said the Sec- 
retary, " that Mexico has declared war against the United 
States, you will at once possess yourself of the port of San 
Francisco, and blockade or occupy such other ports as 
your force may permit." 

The commodore was at Mazatlan, and a British 
squadron, under Admiral Seymour, was there also. The 
former, from certain indications, suspected he was watched; 
if so, he determined tofoU the admiral. Accordingly, he 
weighed anchor and sailed west as if going to the Sand- 
wich Islands, Seymour followed, but in the night Sloat 
tacked and ran uj) the coast to Monterey, while Seymour 
continued on to the islands. Sloat arrived at Monterey 
and offered the usual civilities to the town ; they were 
dechned on a frivolous excuse. It was evident that his 
presence was not agreeable. Five days later he heard of 
the movements of Fremont and the settlers, and he at 
once took possession of the town. Then he sent a cou- 
rier to the latter, who hastened with his mounted men to j„]y 
join the commodore. They were mutually astonished on 7. 
finding that neither of them had acted under direct or- 
ders from their own government. The flag of independ- 
ent California was now supplanted by the colors of the 
United States. 

Commodore Stockton in a few days came into the har- 
bor, to whom Sloat turned over the command, as he himself July 
intended to return home. The next day came Admiral 
47 



738 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. Seymour in his flag-ship. He saw with surprise the 

L American flag floating over the town, the American 

1846. riflemen encamped near by, and an American fleet in the 
jY^" harbor. • One month later Stockton and Fremont took 
possession of Los Angeles, the capital of Upper California. 
California had been for some time in a half revolu- 
tionary state. The inhabitants were dissatisfied with 
Mexican rule. Some wished to join the United States, 
and some to seek the protection of Great Britain. The 
conciliatory course pursued by Fremont did much in 
winning the Californians to the American standard. 

In the latter part of July the " Army of the West," 
under Colonel Kearney, consisting of eighteen hundred 
men, was concentrated near Bent's Fort on the Arkansas. 
The Secretary of War, William L. Marcy, had given him 
instructions to take possession of New Mexico and Upper 
California, to establish therein temporary civil govern- 
ments, to make known to the inhabitants the designs of 
the United States to provide them with free government, 
and that they would be called upon to elect representa- 
tives to their own territorial Legislatures. 

The expedition moved rapidly toward Santa Fe, the 
capital of New Mexico. The population of that province 
was miscellaneous in its character ; Indians, New Mexi- 
cans, (a mixture of Spanish and Indian,) some American 
settlers, and a few of Spanish blood. The mass of the 
population was half-civilized, by whom honor and moral- 
ity were reckoned of little worth. They were cowardly, 
treacherous and cruel ; ignorant and superstitious. The 
Indians, for the most part, held the idolatrous notions of 
the ancient Aztecs, and were so debased that a slight 
reward would insure the committal of almost any crime. 

The governor, Armigo, a bad man and a bad ruler, 
made an eifort to meet the invaders. He assembled about 
four thousand men, of all grades, and, with six field-pieces, 



KEARNEY ENTERS SANTA FE. 739 

took position in a mountain gorge some fifteen miles in chap. 
advance of Santa Fe ; but for some reason, best known to 



himself, be abandoned bis strong post and rapidly retreated 1846. 
southward, carrying off bis own property, and leaving tbe 
people and tbe public interests to take care of themselves. 

Kearney entered Santa Fc and was courteously received Aug. 
by the lieutenant governor. Vigil. The following day 
the people assembled in the plaza and had made known 
to them the designs of the United States government. 
The majority professed themselves pleased with the change. 
In a few days the chiefs of the Pueblo Indians also gave 
in their adhesion to the new order of things. 

Kearney erected and garrisoned a fort, and in the 
meanwhile made an excursion one hundred and fifty miles 
to the south to meet a force which a false rumor said was 
marching against him. On his return he established a 
government, at the head of which he placed Charles Bent, 
a worthy citizen of the territory, as governor. After 
pledging himself to protect the inhabitants against the 
inroads of the Eutaw and Navajoe Indians, he set out for 
California. His company consisted of only three hun- 
dred dragoons, but on the route, when near the river 
Grila, he met a messenger — the celebrated guide and pio- 
neer Kit Carson — who brought intelligence of what had 
recently taken place in CaHfornia under Stockton and 
Fremont. He now sent back two companies of dragoons 
imder Major Sumner, and continued on himself with the 
remamder. 

Thus, within three months after the orders had been 
issued at Washington, a force had been organized ; a 
march of a thousand miles accomplished ; and territory 
subdued, and a new government established on appa- 
rently a stable foundation. A half-civilized and vicious 
population are not fit subjects for self-government, and 
this in a short time proved a failure. Had Kearney re- 
mained to preserve discipline, that result might have 



740 



HISTOEY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



^Liii' ^^"^^ different, or at least delayed. The town was filled 

with gambliug-houses, and grog-shops, and haunts of 

18-16. every vice, while the free manners of the volunteers ex- 
cited against themselves the hatred of the inhabitants, 
who laid their plans for revenge, and only waited an op- 
portunity to carry them into effect. 

Colonel Kearney gave directions to Colonel Doniphan, 
whom he left at Santa Fe, to enter the country of the 
Navajoe Indians, living on the waters of the Gulf of 
Nov. California, and induce them to make peace. Donijjhan, 
with a thousand Missouri volunteers, in three divisions 
and by as many routes, entered the territory of the hostile 
tribe, and obtained from them a treaty, by which they 
agreed to refrain from depredations upon the people of 
New Mexico. This march, so remarkable, was made in the 
winter, across mountains covered with snow, and through 
an unknown region inhabited by barbarous tribes. Doni- 
jihan delayed but a short time in negotiating with the 
Indians, then he passed on to the south-east to meet Gen- 
eral Wool at Chihuahua. 

The absence of so many men with Doniphan afforded 
the looked-for opportunity to commence an insurrection 
in New Mexico. The plot was deep laid and kept a pro- 
^^'^'^- found secret. Suddenly Governor Bent was murdered, 
14.' with five other officers of the territory, some of whom 
were Mexicans, at Taos, fifty miles north of Santa Fe. 
The same day witnessed the murder of many others in 
the upper vaUey of the Eio Grande. 

Colonel Price, of the Missouri mounted volunteers, was 

at Santa Fe with the main force, while detachments were 

scattered over the country grazing their horses on the 

plains. With only three hundred and fifty men, Price 

, hastened to meet the insurgents, in the valley of Taos. 

23. They, numbering about fifteen hundred, took position in a 



DONIPHAN'S EXPEDITION. 741 

pass of tlie road through the highlands. Price routed '^^j|'='- 

them and continued his march up the valley ; but the 

insurgents made a stand at another pass, still stronger by 18-47. 
nature, so narrow that three men could scarcely march 
abreast, while it was protected by rugged mountains 
covered with cedars growing in the crevices of the rocks. 
An advance party clambered up through the cedars, and 
the terrified Mexicans took to flight. 

Their principal place of defence was taken in a few 
days, and the rebellion suppressed. Peace was promised 
only on the condition that the ringleaders should be given 
up ; this was complied with, and several of them were 
hanged at San Fernando : a hard fate for those who 
were fighting against the invaders of their country. 

Colonel Doniphan, accompanied by a large number of 
merchant wagons, crossed without loss a region destitute 
of water or grass — a desert ninety miles in extent, known 
as the Jornada del Muerto, or Journey of Death — the 
road marked by the graves of former travellers and the 
bones of beasts of burden. In one instance his men and 
animals nearly gave out from thirst, when providentially 
a rain reheved them ; a remarkable occurrence in itself, 
as at that season of the year rain seldom falls in that 
region. 

He learned that the Mexicans, under General Her- 
redia, who commanded in the North-western Department, 
were awaiting his approach ; nothing daunted he dashed 
on. His force, including merchants, numbered but eight 
hundred and fifty-six efiective men, nearly all back- 
woodsmen ; all mounted, armed with rifles, and good 
marksmen ; irntrammelled by discipline, each one fought 
as he listed. Near Brazito, in the valley of the Eio 
Grande, they dismounted and were scattered seeking 

wood and water, when the scouts brought word that the ^^^''• 

Dec. 
Mexicans were approaching. The alarm was sounded ; 26. 



742 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 

CHAP, all flew to arms, and amid a din of shouts fell into ranks 
as best they could. The Mexicans — more than twelve 

1846. hundred strong, and with a piece of artillery — drew near ; 
an officer bearing a black flag made his appearance, and 
in a magniloquent speech, declaring that no quarter would 
be given, summoned the Missourians to surrender. Doni- 
phan's answer was characteristic and defiant. 

The Mexican cavalry extended far to the right and 
left, while the infantry, firing volleys of musketry, ad- 
vanced in front. Presently they came within rifle range, 
and the backwoodsmen threw away scarcely a shot. The 
whole body of the enemy broke and fled — they lost nearly 
two hundred men, killed and wounded, in a few minutes. 
Only seven Americans were wounded. 

Two days later Doniphan entered the beautiful vil- 
lage of El Paso, " where a neat cultivation, a comfort- 
able people, fields, orchards, and vineyards, and a 
hospitable reception, ofi'ered the rest and refreshment 
which toils, and dangers, and victory had won." There 

1847. he waited till artillery could join him from Santa Fe, and 
•^^^- then commenced his march upon Cliihuahua. 

The Mexicans kejat out of the way ; but after a march 
of nineteen days it was ascertained that they had taken 
position at a pass of the Sacramento, a small branch of 
the Eio Grande. Here General Herredia made a stand 
with a force of four thousand men, protected by intrench- 
ments across the pass, and on the neighboring hiUs, but 
defences were of little avail against men who never 
hesitated to attack an enemy. Doniphan suddenly 
diverted his route from the main road, forced his way . 
round to the flank of their advance, and before the Mexi- 
cans could bring their guns to bear, he was in full j^lay 
upon them with his own artillery. Their cavalry as well 
as artillery, fell back and retired across the river. Now 
the intrenchments were to be forced ; this was done in 
true backwoods style. Each man rushed on and fought 



DONIPHAN TAKES POSSESSION OF CHIHUAHUA. 743 

on his own resiwnsibility ; some rode along the entrench- ^^j'^J'- 

ments seeking a place to enter, while others dismounted 

and crept up to pick off their defenders. The Mexicans 1847. 
fled from the presence of their assailants, who leaped over 28. 
the works and secured every place within reach. Mean- 
while a party of mounted volunteers crossed the river to 
storm, on horseback, a battery which crowned the hill on 
the opposite side. This singular engagement cost the 
Mexicans three hundred killed and a greater number 
wounded, while the Missourians lost but one killed, one 
mortally wounded, and a few disabled. The enemy, com- 
pletely routed, abandoned every thing ; the ofiScers fled 
toward the south, and the common soldiers to the moun- 
tains. 

The following day Doniphan, without opposition, 
entered Chihuahua — a city of nearly thirty thousand in- 
habitants — raised the American flag on its citadel, and, in 
the name of his government, took possession of the pro- Mar. 
vince. He was in a very perilous situation, with only a 
thousand men, from among whom almost every vestige 
of discipline had vanished. In this city were many 
American merchants, most of whom were wealthy. 
Doniphan's measures were prudent and just, and they 
conciliated the inhabitants. 

On the 27th of April he set out for Saltillo, where he April. 
arrived in a month without opposition, except from a few 
Indians. From Saltillo he marched to Matamoras ; and 
as the term of his men was about to expire, they were 
taken to New Orleans and there discharged. 

The most remarkable expedition on record. They had 
passed over nearly five thousand miles, three thousand of 
which was a march through an unknown and hostile 
countiy swarming with foes. They returned in one year ; 
no body of troops had ever in so short a time passed over 
so much space or surmounted so many obstacles. 

Fremont was the military commandant of California, 



744 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



*^Lm' ^^^^^^ ^ commission from Commodore Stockton. Soon 
after the Commodore sailed from San Francisco to Mon- 



1847. terey, and thence to San Diego. The recently established 
"=■ government was j^laced in peril ; a deep laid plot was in 
train, and only a favorable opportunity was wanting to 
commence the insurrection. Fremont, by a rapid and 
secret march of one hundred and fifty miles, surprised 
and captured the main leader of the insurgents, Don J. 
Pico, who had been a prisoner, and had violated his 
parole. A court martial sentenced him to death. Fre- 
mont remitted the sentence, and thus won Pico's influence 
and aid in tranquilizing the country. He also endeavored 
to conciliate the inhabitants, and made no attack upon 
the hostile parties, which hovered around his march. He 
came up with the main Mexican force, under Don An- 
dreas Pico, brother of the one whom he had just pardoned. 
He sent them a summons to surrender, and they agreed 
to deliver up their artillery and promised to return to 
their homes. They were not required to take the oath of 
allegiance, until a treaty of peace should be concluded 
between the United States and Mexico. 

Dec. Commodore Stockton now learned of the approach of 

General Kearney. The latter had experienced great 
difficulties on his march ; attacked by the enemy, he was 
placed in desperate circumstances at San Pasqual ; his 
provisions gone, his horses dead, his mules disabled, and 
most of his men sick, while the enemy in great numbers 
completely surrounded his camp and held possession of all 
the roads. Three brave men — Kit Carson, Lieutenant 
Beales, of the Navy, and an Indian — volunteered to find 
their way to San Diego, thirty miles distant, and inform 
Commodore Stockton of Kearney's peril. The Commo- 
dore promptly sent assistance, at whose appearance the 
enemy retired and Kearney was enabled to reach San 

Jmi- Diego. 
8. A month later took place the battle at the river San 



INSURRECTION QUELLED. 745 

Gabriel. Then General Flores, chief of the insurgents, ^^^f?- 

sent a flag of truce, proposing a cessation of hostilities in 

California, and to let the sovereignty of the territory be 1848. 
determined by the result of the war between the United 
States and Mexico. Stockton refused to accede to the 
request, and continued his march. Another flag of truce 
came in. Now it was ofiered to surrender the town of 
Los Angeles, if the rights of the people and their property 
should be preserved. On these conditions the capital of 
Ui^per CaUfornia was surrendered a second time, and the 
possession of the country more firmly established than 
before the insurrection. 

Difficulties now arose among the officers in relation to 
the question who should be governor. But recent orders 
from Washington relieved Stockton of his civil functions, Mar. 
which devolved upon General Kearney as he happened to 
be on the ground. In truth, the civil government was 
only in name beyond the range of the American cannon. 

Fremont, however, refused to recognize the authority 
of Kearney, and was brought to trial charged with diso- 
bedience of orders and mutiny. The court found him 
guilty and sentenced him to be dismissed from the ser- 
vice. The President did not approve of all the findings 
of the court ; but, because of " the peculiar circumstances 
of the case and his previous meritorious and valuable ser- 
vices," remitted the sentence and restored him to his rank 
in the army. Fremont would not accept the clemency 
of the President, and thus admit that the proceedings of 
the court were just ; he at once resigned his commission. 
In a few weeks he set out at his own expense on his fourth 
tour of exploration in the Kocky Mountains. 



Il 



CHAPTEE LIV. 

POLK'S ADMINISTEATION— CONCLUDED. 

Movement of Troops. — Vera Cruz invested. — Its Bombardment and Capitu- 
lation. — Santa Anna's Energy. — Battle of Cerro Gordo. — General Scott 
at Puebla. — His Misunderstandings with the Authorities at Washing- 
ton. — Commissioner Trist. — Dissensions in Mexico. — Scott's Manifesto. 
— Ecinforcements. — Advance upon the Capital. — El Penon turned. — 
Battle of Gontreras ; of Cherubusco. — Attempts to obtain Peace. — 
Conflict of Molino del Rev. — The Castle of Chapultcpec captured. — ^The 
American Army enters the City. — Santa Anna again in the Field ; dis- 
missed from the Mexican Service. — Treaty of Peace. — Its Conditions. — 
Evacuation of Mexico. — Misunderstanding among the American Officers. 
— Discovery of Gold in California. — Tlie Effects. — Death of John 
Quincy Adams. — The Wilmot Proviso. — The Presidential Election. 

CHAP. While these events were in progress, plans were formed 
'_ and partially executed to invade Mexico from the east ; 

1846. to secure Vera Cruz, the best harbor on the coast, and 
then, if peace could not be obtained, to march upon the 
capital itself 

Numerous delays imj^eded oj)erations, and it was near 
the end of November before General Scott left Washing- 
ton for the seat of war. The quarter-master. General 
Jessup, was already at New Orleans preparing transports 
for the troops ; and communications were held with Com- 
modore Connor in relation to the co-operation of the fleet. 
The troops, as already mentioned, drawn from Taylor's 
command, were speedily concentrated at convenient points 
on the coast, but the want of transports prevented their 
embarkation. The place of rendezvous was at the island 



VERA CRTJZ INVESTED. 747 

of Lobos, about one hundred and twenty-five miles north *^,hap 

of Vera Cruz. At length the transports were ready, the 

troops, about twelve thousand strong, embarked, and, on 1847. 
the morning of the 9th of March, began to land near 
Vera Cruz. No enemy appeared to dispute the move- 
ment. 

That city contained about fifteen thousand inhabitants. 
It was protected on its land side by numerous defences, 
while on the side of the Gulf, upon a reef, stood the 
Castle of San Juan d'Ulloa, garrisoned by a thousand 
men, who manned one hundred and twenty-eight heavy 
guns ; the strongest fortification on the continent, with 
the exception of Quebec. 

The next morning General Worth was ordered to com- 
mence the hne of investment, which extended nearly six 
miles. The Mexicans appeared to oppose, but a few 
shots from the cannon dispersed them. The weather was 
excessively hot and sultry, and the march through the 
deep sand laborious and tedious. 

The Governor of the State of Vera Cruz now issued a 
proclamation, calling upon the inhabitants of the town to 
defend themselves, while he should retire to harass the 
invaders and cut off their supplies. He soon appeared 
among the sand hills, but after a short skirmish, he 
thought it prudent to keep out of sight. The cannonad- 
ing from the town and castle was incessant, but without 
much execution, owing to the distance. The men kept 
close in their trenches and did not reply. The munitions 
which had recently arrived were now landed, and the 
Americans were ready to commence the bombardment. 
General Scott summoned the city to surrender, stipulating, 
in order to save the lives and property of the inhabitants, 
that no batteries should be placed in the town to attack 
the Castle, unless the latter fired upon the Americans. 
General Morales, the c«nmander of both the city and 
castle refused to comply with the summons. 



748 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

^?AF -^t 4 o'clock in the aftomoon the bombardment com- 

menced. The Mexicans replied with every gun and 

1847. mortar that could be brought to bear from the city and 
22/ castle. Some of the smaller American vessels crept near 
and with their heavy guns added to the uproar ; thus 
through the night the contest lasted. Other guns were 
brought, and other batteries erected within a thousand 
yards of the devoted city. They were hidden behind the 
chaparral ; this was cleared away, and revealed to the 
besieged a new foe — the battery of Paixhan guns. Their 
astonishment was great ; ujoon this new enemy who had 
dared to take position so near, they resolutely directed all 
their force for many hours. They fired rapidly and with 
precision, but failed to silence this battery. 

How terrific was this storm ! Twenty-one heavy 
guns pouring forth an incessant stream of balls and shells ; 
the heavy shot broke through the solid walls and crashed 
through the houses, while the shells, still more terrible, 
scattered ruin and death in the streets, and burned every 
building that would burn. With scarcely any intermis- 
sion, for four days this horrid work continued. The in- 
habitants, to be out of range, left their homes, and help- 
lessly crowded upon the mole at the north part of the 
town, but ere long the balls began to come nearer and 
nearer. For twelve days the town had been invested, and 
its provisions were now nearly exhausted. The foreign 
residents implored their consuls to aid them. The latter 
obtained permission of Morales to send a flag of truce to 
General Scott. They asked a cessation of hostilities till 
the foreigners, with their families, and the Mexican 
women and children could leave the place. The request 
was properly refused, on the ground that permission had 
once been offered the foreign residents to leave the town, 
and that the petition to receive attention must come 
from the Mexican governor. * 

The American batteries re-opened as soon as the flag 



VERA CRUZ CAPITULATES — MARCH ON JALAPA. 749 

entered' tlie city, and continued diiring the night. At chap. 

break of day another flag was seen approaching. The 

firing ceased. Negotiations commenced, and were ter- 1847. 
minated by the surrender of Vera Cruz, the Castle, the 
armaments and stores of each, and the soldiers as prison- 
ers of war. These terms were agreed to by General Scott 
and Commodore Perry, who was in command of the 
squadron. The soldiers were to march out, with the 
honors of war, lay down their arms and be dismissed on Mar. 
their parole. The inhabitants were guaranteed in their ''"'• 
civU and rehgious rights. 

General Worth was appointed governor of Vera Cruz. -'^P'''^ 
The advance division, under General Twiggs, soon com- 
menced the march for the city of Mexico by way of Jalapa. 
The whole army amounted to only eight thousand five 
hundred men, but there preceded them an influence, that 
threw a shadow of despondency over the minds of the 
Mexicans. 

Santa Anna had been very active since his defeat at 
Buena Vista, (which he labored hard to prove to his 
countrymen was not a defeat at all ; he only retreated for 
want of provisions,) in collecting another army, and he 
had already arrived with twelve thousand men at Cerro 
Gordo, a mountain pass at the eastern edge of the Cor- 
dilleras. In the midst of revolutions and distractions, he 
marched to this, the first of the " Thermopylaes," which 
he promised his countrymen to defend. Within two 
months after a disastrous defeat, without money, without 
the prestige of success, he had quelled an insurrection and 
established his own power, raised an army, portions of 
which had marched from three hundred to six hundred 
miles ; had constructed the fortifications at Cerro Gordo, 
and made a ditch twelve miles long to supply the camp 
with water. 



750 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. The positions of the Mexicans wore reconnoitred, and 
the attack commenced by the division under General 

1847. Twiggs, sent to turn their position. Presently the whole 
^Q^ front was assailed. The Americans seized another hill, 
El Telegrapho, up the sides of which they dragged heavy 
cannon, and began to play upon the defences of Cerro 
Gordo. The Mexicans replied with great vigor. During 
this mutual cannonade, Colonel Harney led his men rapidly 
down into the valley between the hills, and began to ascend 
the slope toward the defences on the top. The declivity 
was steep and rugged, and soon the entire fire of the battery 
was directed against these new assailants, but fortunately 
the balls for the most part passed over their heads. But 
without wavering they pressed up, carried one breastwork 
after another, until they presented themselves at the last, 
the strongest on the summit. Santa Anna, a short hour 
before, had ordered General Vasqucz to defend this post 
to the last extremity, and he bravely stood his ground, 
and feU while encouraging his men ; confusion ensued, 
and the struggle was soon ended. The Americans poured 
in a stream of balls, forced their way through the breast- 
work, and then charged with the bayonet. The garrison 
fled down the western slope in the direction of Jalapa. 
Twiggs had jjassed round the hiU, their retreat was cut off 
and they made prisoners. At this moment Santa Anna 
returned. He was enraged beyond bounds at seeing the 
discomfiture of his troops in a position which he was cer- 
tain could have been maintained. He ordered General 
Canalize to charge up the hill and re-capture Cerro Gordo ; 
the latter absolutely refused to obey, but led off his 
cavalry. Then Santa Anna mounted a mule taken from 
his carriage, and fled, leaving as trophies to his enemies 
his travelling equipage and his private papers. 

The Mexican army was annihilated and scattered in 
all directions ; they had lost more than a thousand men, 
lolled and wounded, three thousand prisoners, five 



THE VOLUNTEERS BETURN HOME. 751 

generals, all their artillery and military stores. This was chap. 

not obtained without a severe loss to the invaders, who, 

in their rash and headlong charges in the face of batteries, 1847. 
and well protected musketeers, had lost four hundred and 
thirty-one, killed and wounded, of whom tloirty-three were 
officers. 

Possession was taken of Jalapa, three days later of "Y"' 
Perote, a stronghold on the summit of the Cordilleras, 
which was abandoned almost without a struggle, and 
then of the city of Puebla — containing eighty thousand 
inhabitants. At the latter city General Scott established -^ 
his head-quarters. 15. 

The volunteers' term of enlistments would expire in 
one month. They refused to re-enlist, but urged that 
they should be permitted to return to the United States, 
and there be disbanded, rather than on the soil of Mexico. 
They greatly dreaded the vomito, or yellow fever, as the 
season in which it was most severe was near at hand. 
Though they had no claims to be thus dismissed. General 
Scott indulged them, as it would be impossible to secure 
the capital, if the volunteers insisted on returning home 
at the end of their term of enlistments. Thus situated 
he was forced to remain inactive three months, till re-in- j^^„^ 
forcements arrived from the United States. 15 

During this interval several circumstances occurred 
which embarrassed the General-in-Chief's movements as 
well as disturbed his equanimity. First was the effort 
made, as he thought, to degrade him from his position in 
the army. This was to be accomplished by appointing 
over him a Lieutenant-General, a rank never held in the 
service except by Washington. The measure failed to 
pass the Senate. The same end was apparently aimed at 
in another measure by which jiower was given the Presi- 
dent to appoint officers to any position in the army, 
without regard to their previous rank. 



752 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. Instead of money to buy provisions, came an order 

from tlie Secretary of War to authorize the collection of 

1847. duties levied on merchandise entering the Mexican ports. 
In the same communication was another order to levy 
contributions upon the Mexican people. This Scott ab- 
solutely refused to obey, as General Taylor had also done, 
giving as a reason the poverty of that part of the country. 
Says Scott in a letter to the Secretary : " If it is expected 
at Washington, as is now apprehended, that this army is 
to support itself by forced contributions upon the country, 
we may ruin and exasperate the inhabitants and starve 
ourselves ; for it is certain they would sooner remove or 
destroy the products of their farms, than allow them to 
fall into our hands without compensation. Not a ration 
for man or horse would be brought in except by the 
bayonet, wliich would oblige the troops to spread them- 
selves out many leagues to the right and left in search of 
subsistence, and stop all military operations." ' And he 
continued to buy provisions for the army at the regular 
prices of the country, and thus did much to allay a rising 
feeling of hatred toward the Americans. 

The Secretary had given as a reason for this order, 
that the Mexican people thus laid under contribution, 
and compelled to bear the expenses of the war, would soon 
become willing to conclude a treaty of peace. This might 
apply to the public revenues, and that part of the order 
the General took measures to have complied with. 

Other difficulties arose. After the capture of Vera 
Cruz General Scott suggested to the President the send- 
ing of commissioners to head-quarters to treat for jjeace, 
should an opportunity occur. For this important duty, 
tbe president appointed Mr. N. P. Trist, whose qualifica- 
tions were that he had been Consul at Havana, could 

' Gen. Scott's letter to the Sec. of War, as quoted by Ripley, Vol. ii., p. 95. 



INSTKUCTIONS OF COMMISSIONER TEIST. 753 

speak Spanish and professed to understand the Mexican ^.^-^P- 

character, his skill as a diplomatist could be inferred only 

from the fact that he was "Chief Clerk" in the State 1847. 
Department. Having in his possession the draft of a 
treaty fully drawn out at the department of State, he left 
Washington and arrived at Vera Cruz. He also bore a May. 
despatch from the Secretary of State, Mr. Buchanan, to 
the Mexican Minister of Foreign Kelations. The plan of 
the treaty and his instructions he was directed to make 
known confidentially both to General Scott and Commo- 
dore Perry. The Secretary of War, Mr. Marcy, wrote to 
the G-eneral-in- Chief, informing him of the mission, but in 
general terms, and directed him to suspend active mili- 
tary ojierations till further orders, unless he was attacked. 

Instead of making known to General Scott the designs 
of his mission as directed, Mr. Trist sent a short note to 
head-quarters from Vera Cruz, and transmitted the sealed 
despatch to be forwarded to the Mexican Minister, and 
the letter from Secretary Marcy ; the latter could not be 
understood without the explanations which Mr. Trist 
alone could give. The general could only see in this an 
underhand attempt to degrade him by making him in 
some way subordinate to the " Chief Clerk." However, 
in a few days he wrote to Mr. Trist, what he knew of the 
vievvs of the Mexican people and government in relation 
to a treaty of peace, to which at present they were op- 
posed. In conclusion, he remarked, that the suspension of 
hostilities belonged properly to the military commander 
on the field, and not to a Secretary of War a thousand 
miles distant. 

In reply Trist gave full explanation of his mission, but 
in disrespectful and arrogant terms, assumed to be the 
aide-de-camp of the President, and in that capacity to 
order the General-in-Chief. ' This correspondence led to 

' Ripley's War with Mexico, Vol. ii., pp. 100, HI. 
48 



754 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, much harsh feeling and retarded the advancement of the 

cause. At length explanations in relation to the com- 

1847. missioner of peace came to the general from the authori- 
ties at Washington. The Secretary of State severely- 
censured Mr. Trist " for his presuming to command the 
General-in-Chief." 

Santa Anna fled from Cerro Gordo to Orizaba, where 
he remained some time to organize bands of guerillas to 
harass the American trains, which would be on their 
way from Vera Cruz. Aftenvard he returned to Mexico 
to find his popularity on the wane. For a time the Mexi- 
cans were paralyzed with consternation. Their army on 
which they had deiiended so much had been totally routed 
at Cerro Gordo. The invincible enemy was pressing on ; 
not a barrier intervened between them and the capital. 
The city was filled with factions ; the national councils 
were divided ; ambitious men forgot their patriotism in 
their desire for self-aggrandizement. The treasury was 
bankrupt, its only resource forced loans. Yet in the face 
of all these difficulties, Santa Anna did succeed in raising 
an army of twenty-five thousand men with sixty pieces of 
artillery, and in having the city fortified. After all he 
was the best commander the nation could afibrd, and the 
soldiers once more put themselves under his direction, to 
repel the invaders of their country and their sacred homes. 
They did not flock to his standard from a prestige of vic- 
tory, for even when his boasts were still ringing in their 
ears, he had been ignominiously defeated ; nor were they 
induced by the confidence reposed in the integrity of a 
great and good man, to whom, as if to a superior being, 
the multitude turn in times of great peril ; but from sheer 
necessity. 

Santa Anna understood the Mexican character. By 
intrigue and the exercise of a vigorous arm, he seized 
property, and imprisoned or banished his opponents ; by pre- 



PROCLAMATION TO THE MEXICAN PEOPLE. 755 

tending to be desirons of peace lie gained time, and dis- ™'^^- 

honestly entered upon negotiations ; offered himself to be 

bribed, and was accepted. His plans were cunningly de- 1847. 
vised : if they succeeded, the glory would all redound to 
his name ; if they foiled, the censure could be thrown 
upon others. 

Thus he employed the three' months that General 
Scott was forced to wait for the arrival of reinforcements. 
Had the volunteers consented to remain in the service six 
months longer, in all probability the capture of Mexico 
and a treaty of peace would have ended the campaign, 
and the blood spared which was shed in such profusion in 
the subsequent conflicts. 

When at Jalapa General Scott issued a proclamation April 
to the people of Mexico. This manifesto, in its tone and ^^' 
spirit, was well adapted to the state of affairs of the 
country, in showing that the true policy of the Mexican 
people was to conclude a treaty on the liberal terms 
offered by the government of the United States. The 
proclamation was issued at the instance of several Mexi- 
can gentlemen of influence, one of whom composed it in 
original Spanish, as it was dictated by the general. It 
was well received by the people in the country ; but 
Santa Anna captured a courier, who was bearing copies 
of it to the capital. He at once discovered by the style 
that it was not a translation, and he proclaimed with his 
usual virtuous indignation, that it was the production of 
some Mexican traitor, and thus neutralized its eflects on 
the people of the city. 

At this time, he had by secret agents intimated to 
Mr. Trist that he was desirous of peace, and plainly that 
money would be still more acceptable : if a million of 
dollars were placed at his disposal something might be 
done. That this proposition might be considered, a re- j^ 
conciliation took place between the general and the com- 25. 



756 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, missioner ; as neither could well act without the other. 

General Pillow, who had just arrived at Puebla, was also 

1847. admitted to these conferences. He was a particular 
friend of the President, and, owing to the " informal and 
confidential request " sent from Washington, this partici- 
pation was granted. Communications were continued 
with Santa Anna, hut with no more important result 
than that the latter received ten thousand dollars of the 
secret serv-ice money at the disposal of General Scott. 

As might have been anticipated, it was soon seen that 
Santa Anna's only object was to obtain money and gain 
time, and General Scott made preimrations to advance 
upon the city as soon as the reinforcements under Briga- 
dier-General Franklin Pierce woidd arrive from Vera 
Cruz. Meantime, the way to the city had been thorouglily 
reconnoitred, and General Worth sent forward with the 
first division. The whole army consisted of not more 
than ten thousand men, as great numbers had been left in 
the hospitals at Perote. 

The region through which they marched was a high 
table land beautiful in the extreme, well watered, inter- 
spersed with valleys and mountains, whose slopes were 
covered with the richest verdure, while in the distance 
their snow-capped summits gUttered in the bright sun- 
shine of August. Almost from the same spot where more 
than three hundred years before Cortez and his followers 
viewed the distant temples of the city of Montezuma, the 
Americans hailed with cheers the city of Mexico. 

The passes on the direct route had been well fortified, 
and were well garrisoned in the confident expectation 
that their positions could not be turned. The strongest 
of these was El Penon, to capture which the American 
engineers stated would require the loss of three thousand 
lives. General Scott was proverbially carefid of the lives 
of his soldiers; the sacrifice must be avoided. The vicinity 
of the city was reconnoitred in the most daring manner ; 



EL PENON TURNED — BATTLE OF CONTRERAS. 757 

and it was discovered that the defences south and west ™^- 
were not so strongly fortified. 

The general diverted his course to the left and turned 1847. 
El Penon on the south side, and luider the direction of 
skilful engineers crossed chasms and ravines deemed im- 
passable, and therefore hut imperfectly guarded. General 
Twiggs led the advance, and encamped at Chalco on the 
lake of the same name. Worth followed, took the lead, 
and with his division halted at the town of San Augus- Aug. 
tin, about eight miles from the city. In his front was ^'' 
the strong fortress of San Antonio, now the head-quarters 
of Santa Anna, who left El Penon, when he found that 
the Americans were on their march round to the south 
side of the city. North-west of San Antonio and four 
miles from the city was the village of Churubusco, ren- 
dered strong by a series of intrenchments. Not far to 
the west of the village of San Augustin was the fortified 
camp of Contreras, which contained six thousand men ; in 
the rear between the camp and the city were placed twelve 
thousand men in reserve. The whole number of Mexi- 
cans in these various defences was about thirty-five 
thousand, with nearly one hundred pieces of artillery of 
various sizes. 

General Persifer F. Smith projoosed to attack the 
camp at Contreras, which was under the command of 
General Valencia. The night had been one of cold rain 
and storm and intense darkness, except when enlivened 
by the fitful glare of the lightning. At three o'clock j^^„ 
in the morning, the expedition set out ; the soldiers, lest 19- 
they should become sejiarated on the march, were directed 
to take hold of each other — at sunrise the conflict com- 
menced. The Mexicans were but partially surprised, 
still the impetuous attack efiectually routed them ; three 
thousand of their number were made prisoners, eighty 
officers and thirty-five i^ieces of artillery. Among the 
latter were two pieces taken at Buena Vista, now recap- 



758 HISTOKY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

*^HAP. tured by a portion of the regiment to which they originally 

. belonged. Thus commenced this eventful day — severer 

1847. conflicts were yet to come. 

Generals Shields and Pierce had, during the night, 
thrown their divisions between Santa Anna and Contreras. 
The fugitives from the latter place had fled to Churu- 
busco, and there fresh troops had also arrived from the 
city ; it seemed from the preparations, that here a des- 
perate defence was to be made. 

A convent, a very strong stone building, was well for- 
tified and pierced for muskets and cannon, also the head 
of the bridge over the river was well defended. 

In an hour or two General Scott arrived ; as he rode 
along through the army he was received with hearty cheers. 
The morning's success had filled the soldiers with en- 
thusiasm, and they hoped on that day to end the war. 

Santa Anna himself was busily engaged in arranging 
his men beyond the Churubusco Kiver — whose banks were 
lined with the maguey plant, which shielded nearly all his 
force from view. 

The rain of the previous night Imd flooded the low- 
lands in the vicinity ; the fortifications were masked by 
trees and fields of corn ; the latter flooded, and every 
part well known to the enemy, whose guns were so ar- 
ranged as to sweep them perfectly. When the Americans 
commenced the attack, their oflicers, in the face of these 
batteries, would advance and reconnoitre the ground, then 
the men would march up to that point, the officers would 
again advance, and the same process be repeated. During 
this time the cannon balls from the unseen enemy came 
crashing through the corn, the men and officers fell rapidly, 
yet as if impelled by some all powerful influence, they 
moved steadily on imtil the works of Churubusco were in 
their hands. 

General Scott sent round to the other side a division 
under General Pillow ; they waded through the mud and 



BATTLE OF CHURUBDSCO. 759 

water, in some instances waist deejD, before they could *^^jy^- 

reach the enemy. Several companies were entirely broken 

up, Captain Taylor's artillery men were cut up, his horses 1847. 
killed, when suddenly the Mexicans rushed out of the 
convent to charge ; but at this moment a company of 
American infantry came up and repulsed the assailants. 

The ground was intersected by causeways, and it was 
impossible to preserve military order ; also owing to their 
ignorance of the position of the enemy, as well as their 
own, the Americans were constantly in danger of firing 
upon their own friends. The battle raged in evei-y direc- 
tion. General Worth carried San Antonio, and General 
Twiggs another fortress. The Mexicans fought bravely, 
they were more than three to one of their foes, and they 
made every efibrt to repel them. 

For two hours the battle had raged. The smoke 
completely enshrouded the position of the Mexicans. 
The roar of their twenty thousand muskets seemed to 
drown the noise of the artillery, and to render the din of 
the conflict peculiarly terrific. 

The Americans could but feci their way through the 
corn, and across causeways and ditches, ignorant at what 
moment they might come upon concealed batteries. At 
length a party were enabled to cross the river Ghurubusco, 
and presented themselves in the rear of the enemy, at the 
same moment Worth's division emerged from the corn- 
fields in their front ; those in the rear rushed across 
ditches and over the parapets and carried the works, 
while the Mexicans at the head of the bridge abandoned 
it ; their guns were immediately seized and turned upon 
them. Both divisions pressed forward with the bayonet, 
the Mexicans recoiled in confusion, and finally fled ; the 
dragoons pursuing them to the very gates of the city. 

The victory was won, but it had cost the Americans 
dear ; a thousand had fallen or been disabled, among 
these were seventy-six officers. The coolness, the in- 



760 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

^Li^' "iomitable courage and perseverance of both men and 

officers were never better displajed. The ground was 

1847. unknown, and they were thrown upon their own resources ; 
there was no wavering ; each one performed his part, and 
adapted himself to the emergency. In no battle did the 
Mexicans fight better ; they struggled hard, and the num- 
ber of their slain and wounded and missing — nearly seven 
thousand — testifies that they were brave. 

Santa Anna fled to the city. The night after the 
battle several persons connected with the British embassy 
in Mexico appeared at the American head-quarters, and 
informed General Scott that the Mexican authorities were 
disposed to conclude a peace, and advised that the capital 
should not be assaulted, lest the members of the govern- 
ment should be dispersed, and leave no acknowledged 
authority to enter upon negotiations. 

A flag of truce came the next day and presented the 
request for hostilities to cease preparatory to negotiating 
a treaty. In accordance with this request, and the repre- 
sentations made the previous evening, Mr. Trist went 
to the capital and presented his conditions of peace — the 
same drawn up at Washington. After protracted delays, 
evidently designed to gain time, the Mexican, commis- 
sioners announced that they would not accede to these 
conditions, and in turn they proposed others, which they 
well knew would not be acceptable. 
Sept. Mr. Trist returned with this intelligence, and also that 

contrary to the terms of the armistice, Santa Anna was 
fortifying the city, and in other respects had violated his 
pledges. 

Indignant at the continued treachery. General Scott 
now ordered the army to march upon the capital. 

On the way were two strong positions : the one Molino 

del Eey, (the King's Mill,) a foundry, where, it was said, 

the bells of the churches were being rapidly converted into 

near by was the strong castle of Chapultepec, 



5. 



CAPTURE OF MOLIXO DEL RET. 761 

which could not be turned, but must be taken, before the f'HAP. 
city could be reached. 

It was resolved to capture Molino del Key ; and at 1847. 
three in the morning General Worth sent forward the g^ ' 
dillerent corps of his division to commence the attack at 
dawn of day. While it was yet dark, the two twenty- 
four pounders opened and sent their balls through the 
walls of masonry. There was no reply, and it was thought 
the Mexicans had abandoned the building. Instead, they 
had changed their position during the night, and now had 
their guns in readiness to pour grape and round shot upon 
the flank of the advancing Americans. From the mani- 
fest preparations, it is thought, Santa Anna, who was on 
the ground, knew of the intended attack. His advantages 
in number and position were great, and when his guns 
opened, their eflect was terrible. In a few minutes the 
front of the American advance was cut down ; of fourteen 
officers, eleven were either killed or wounded, and a like 
proportion of the men. The company was forced to fall 
back, and the Mexicans, as usual, with savage ferocity, 
rushed out and murdered all the wounded they could find. 

Worth ordered forward other companies, and these 
were seconded by another brigade, who vigorously attacked 
the Mexican flank. Though exposed to a cross fire wliich 
did fearful execution, these all fought desperately ; it would 
seem that the idea of retreating from the face of such 
overwhelming odds, never occurred to them ; they held on 
and steadily advanced. 

Presently General Leon himself headed a strong sortie 
from the Molino del Rey, but it was driven back; Leon 
was mortally wounded, and several officers of high rank 
were slain. The attack was continued in a desultoiy 
manner, the assaOants sought in various ways to gain 
access to the enemy ; they crept along the sides and fired 
into the apertures, climbed to the top of the building and 
tore down the walls with their hands or pried the stones 



762 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

^5v^' ^°°^*^ ^^^^ ^^^'^^ bayonets. At length they broke through 

. the southern gate, and rushing in with loud shouts engaged 

1847. in close combat. The Mexicans did not yield, but con- 
tinued to fire upon them, from the building into the 
courtyards. The Americans burst open door after door, 
reached the roof, and with the bayonet met the enemy 
hand to hand. In a few minutes the north-west gate was 
in like manner forced. A portion of the Mexicans held 
out a white flag in token of surrender, while others made 
their way to Chapultepec. 

This has been deemed the hardest contested conflict 
of the entire war. The enemy were in numbers three to 
one, and in a strong position. After the commencement 
of the attack, the Americans had scarcely any aid from 
their heavy cannon, but were forced to depend upon their 
rifles and muskets. Still they carried the place, and 
captured eight hundred prisoners, and lost themselves 
seven hundred and eighty-seven killed and wounded, of 
whom fifty-nine were ofiicers — nearly one-fourth of the 
whole number engaged in the battle. The loss of so many 
brave men shed a gloom over the entire army. 

The Castle of Chapultepec stood on a high and preci- 
pitous hUl, very steep and rocky, on the south side toward 
the Americans ; on the west the slope was more gradual, 
but covered with dense woods and rough with rocks. 
Here, shielded by these, was a large force of Mexicans. 

At the earliest dawn the full force of the American 
cannon was concentrated upon the walls of the castle, 
Sept. and at the west side, storming parties were waiting anx- 
iously for a breach to be made, by which they might 
carry it by assault. They groped their way from tree to 
tree and rock to rock, driving the Mexicans before them, 
when suddenly, on the crest of the hill, the whole force 
came out on the open space in the presence of ram- 
parts frowning with cannon and musketry. They ap- 



13. 



CASTLE OF CHAPULTEPEC TAKEN. 763 

proachecl cautiously, returning only a few shots, but still ^^j^- 
drawing nearer and nearer. Presently an ensign bearing 



the standard of his regiment, rushed forward to the ram- 1847. 
part, a shout arose, and a few followed with ladders, 
placed them against the wall and with a cheer bounded 
over. The Mexicans, taken by surprise, stood but a few 
minutes, then scrambled over the side and down the 
precipitous rocks out of danger. This was the only in- 
stance during the war where the Americans so far forgot 
themselves as not to cease their fire at the submission of 
the foe, and even now it continued only for a few minutes. 
Their provocations had been great. Only a few days be- 
fore, as on every other occasion, they had seen their 
wounded companions, found on the field of battle, barba- 
rously murdered by the Mexicans. The exulting shouts, 
the disregard of discipline, which continued for an hour, 
only manifested the deep emotions which prevailed. 

The castle was a mass of ruins ; so eflective had been 
the shots and shells, that it was battered to pieces. Here 
had been the national military school, and here the young 
students had bravely stood their ground. All of their 
number, who were not slain, were taken prisoners, with the 
aged General Bravo their commander. 

While the conflict was in progress General Quitman 
was engaged in capturing the defences thrown over the 
causeways which led through a marsh — a lake in the days 
of Cortez — to the city. They were taken in succession ; 
each one gave more or less resistance. At nightfall the 
Mexicans were driven within the city, and the Americans 
held two of its gates. 

At midnight commissioners came with propositions of 
peace, and to surrender the city ; they stated that Santa 
Anna was marching out with his army. General Scott 
refused to listen again to terms of accommodation ; when 
his kindness of feeling had prompted him to oifer them 
peace, he had been grossly deceived. The following morn- 



764 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

^Liv^' ^°^' ^^*'^ ^^'^ thousand men, he marched into the city, 

drew up his army upon the great plaza, and hoisted the 

18i7. stars and stripes over the National Palace. 
j^_' For several days the troops were occasionally fired 

upon from windows and the tops of houses ; the work, it 
was said, of convicts, two thousand of whom had just heen 
liberated ; but stringent measures were taken to insure 
safety. 

Santa Anna, with three or four thousand troops, had 
gone toward Puebla. He devolved his authority upon 
Pena y Pena, the President of the Supreme Court of 
Justice. The other prominent Mexicans went in different 
directions. 

Colonel Childs had been left in command at Puebla 
with a small garrison, only five hundred men, to protect 
eighteen hundred sick and disabled American soldiers. 
The Mexicans, encouraged by false reports of success at 
the capital, made frequent desultory attacks upon the 
garrison, but by great exertions Colonel Childs held them 
Sept. at bay for nine days, when Santa Anna, with a remnant 
— some four or five thousand — of his discomfited army, 
appeared, and in a pompous manner summoned Childs to 
surrender. The summons was disregarded. The Mexi- 
can chief blockaded the town for seven days and then 
marched to intercept a train, on its way from Vera Cruz. 
General Lane was in command of this convoy — troops from 
Taylor's army, composed of Indiana and Ohio volunteers. 

Santa Anna took position at Huamantla, a town some 
miles north of the main pass El Pinal, intending to attack 
the Americans when they should become entangled in the 
defile. But Lane was not thus to be entrajjped. He at 
once set out, surprised Santa Anna himself, and compelled 
him, after some loss, to abandon the town. The train 
„ unmolested moved on the following day to Puebla, and 
8. the garrison, after a month's siege_. was relieved. 



TREATY OF PEACE CONCLUDED. 765 

Within ten days it was ascertained that Santa Anna ^?A^- 

was concentrating another force at Alixo. Lane, by a 

forced march, suddenly fell ujion them, and dispersed 1847. 
them beyond recovery. Almost immediately after his 
failure to prevent the capture of the city of Mexico, Santa 
Anna resigned the presidency of the republic, but still 
retained his office as commander-in-chief of the Mexican 
armies. Now he was mortified to receive a note from 
Senor Kosa, the Minister of War, informing him that his 
services were no longer required by the government, which 
had just been inaiigurated. He took the hint, and was 
soon on his way to the Gulf Coast, thence to the West 
Indies to be ere long again engaged in intrigues to disturb 
his unfortunate country 

In a few weeks after the capture of the city of Mexico, 
the seat of government was removed to Queretaro. Soon 
after members for a new Congress were elected, and that 
body commenced its session. At the town of Guadalupe 
Hidalgo, commissioners and Mr. Trist were negotiating a 
treaty of peace. It was concluded on the 2d of February, jg^g^ 
and now it only remained to be ratified by the authorities 
at Washington to formally close the war, which, from the ^^^ 
battle of Palo Alto to the capture of the city of Mexico, 1846 
had lasted one year and five months. Sept. 

In this brief period, armies, of their own free will, had -^g^'y^ 
flocked to the standard of their country ; had been organ- 
ized, had marched into a foreign land, dissimilar to their 
own in climate and in feature, some across deserts and 
through districts infected with direful disease, others in 
mid-winter passed over untrodden mountains, covered 
with snow, and then in turn over arid plains, and met 
the enemy in conflict many hundreds of miles from their 
homes, while fleets were fitted out, which swept round 
Cape Horn, and were in time to perform their part. The 
rapidity with which cannon were manufactured and mu- 



766 HISTOKY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, nitions of war prepared and transported to the scene of 

L action, was astonishing. 

1847. 

During the time of the occupation of the city of 
Mexico, difficulties arose between some of the officers of 
the army. From misunderstandings hasty charges were 
made, and recriminations followed. Two of the officers, 
Pillow and Worth, made charges against the General-in- 
Chief, and he ordered them under arrest for insubordina- 
tion. They appealed to the War Department, and made 
representations, in consequence of which the venerable 
commander, who had been a worthy leader from Lundy's 
Lane to Mexico, was superseded by an order from Wash- 
ington, and the temporary command given to another. 
Subsequently the charges were virtually withdrawn, and 
they resumed their respective ranks. It is not expedient 
to go into detail ; let the matter sink into oblivion. But 
never before — and may it never be again — in the history 
of the country, when its interests were so deeply involved, 
did the terms of " party," democrat or whig, of "friends" 
or " opponents " of the " administration," have so much 
influence. 

Certainly, in truth it has been said, that those who 
served their country well in this war fared badly. Taylor, 
who was victorious from Palo Alto to Bueua Vista, was 
quarrelled with ; Scott, who marched triumphant from 
Vera Cruz to Mexico, was superseded ; Fremont, who 
secured California, was court-martialled, and Trist, who 
made the treaty, which secured the objects of the war, 
was recalled and dismissed. 

The war had been an unceasing source of disappoint- 
ment to those whose measures brought it on. Santa 
Anna, who was to have been a harbinger of peace, had to 
be beaten from point to point, and not until he was 
finally driven from power did those of his countrymen, 
who were in favor of an amicable arrangement, dare to act. 



DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN CALIFORNIA 767 

When the commissioners, appointed by the President ™^- 

to supersede Trist, arrived at Mexico, they found the treaty 

negotiated and signed by the parties. In substance it was 1848. 
the same that had been prepared by the Cabinet. When 
brought to Washington it was at once laid before the 
Senate, and after a short discussion ratified. The Presi- 
dent by proclamation, on the 4th of July, 1848, made 
known to the nation that the war was at an end, and a 
satisfactory treaty had been concluded. 

New Mexico and Upper California were ceded to the 
United States, and the lower Rio Grande, from its mouth 
to El Paso, was taken as the boundary of Texas. Mexico 
was to receive fifteen millions of dollars ; the claims of 
American citizens against her — amoimting to three and a 
quarter millions of dollars — were assumed by the United 
States. In a few months not an American soldier was on 
Mexican soil. 

On the 4th of July, 1845, the annexation of Texas 
was consummated ; and thus within three years a territory 
four times as large as France, had been added to the 
United States — regions hitherto imperfectly known, but 
having in store the elements of great wealth. 

At the very time that the commissioners were nego- 
tiating the treaty, a laborer engaged at work upon a miU- 
race belonging to Captain Sutter, on one of the tributaries 
of the Sacramento river, noticed in the sand some shining 
particles. They proved to be gold. By the time the 
treaty was ratified rumors of the discovery reached the 
United States. The excitement produced was unprece- 
dented. In a short time thousands were on their way to 
the land of gold. Every means of conveyance was called 
into requisition, from the emigrant's pack-horse and wagon, 
to the sailing-vessel and the steam-ship. Some went in 
caravans over the plains and the Rocky Mountains ; 
some crossed the Isthmus of Panama, and found their 
way up the Pacific coast ; others took ship and passed 



768 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

^?^^^- round Cape Horn. The sufferings of the great majority 
of these adventiirers were intense ; hundreds of them met 

184:8. untimely deaths on the way, or by disease, privations, and 
improvidence, when they reached their journey's end. 
The ferment extended throughout the civilized world. 
Multitudes of gold-seekers were soon on their way from 
the diflerent countries of Europe and South America, and 
even distant China sent her thousands. The tide of im- 
migration was directed to San Feancisco, which, from a 
miserable village of a few huts, soon became a city of fifteen 

1859. thousand inhabitants, now to have more than five times 
that number, and to be the great entrepot of the Pacific. 
The influence of this discovery of gold mines, has been 
incalculable in its efl'ects, not merely upon the United 
States, but has extended to other nations. " It touched 
the nerves of industry throughout the world," infused new 
life into commerce, and awakened a spirit of adventure and 
individual exertion never before known. 

Feb. On the 21st of February, the venerable John Quincy 

^^" Adams, when in his seat in the House of Representatives, 
was struck by jiaralysis. Two days later he expired. His 
last words were, " This is the last of earth : — I am con- 
tent." Born in revolutionary times : " The cradle hymns 
of the child were the songs of liberty." He had associated 
with the fathers of the republic, and was the rejiresenta- 
tive of the memories of that heroic age. For more than 
sixty years he had been constantly engaged in public 
affairs. At the age of fourteen, private secretary to 
Francis Dana, American minister to Russia ; at twenty- 
seven appointed minister to Holland by Washington, 
who styled him " the ablest of all our diplomatic corps." 
Afterward successively, United States Senator ; profes- 
sor in Harvard College ; minister to Russia ; one of the 
negotiators of the treaty of Ghent ; Secretary of State 
under Monroe ; President, and then member of the House 
till Ms death, at the age of fourscore. Old in years but 



THE WILMOT PROVISO. 769 

buoyant in spirit, he never lagged behind his age ; but ™-^P- 

with careful eye watched the jirogress of his country, and 

sympathized with its youthful energies. 1848. 

The administration of Mr. Polk was drawing to a 
close. Its great event had been the Mexican war, the 
train for which was laid under his predecessor. The 
tariif of 1842, under which the industry of the country 
had rapidly recovered from its prostration, after an ex- 
istence of four years was so modified, as to afford less pro- 1846. 
taction to American manufactures. 

David Wilmot, a member of the House from Penn- 
sylvania, introduced a proposition into Congress, since 
known as the " Wilmot Proviso," by which slavery should 
be prohibited in all territory obtained by treaty. The 
" Proviso " did not become a law, but the subject of 
slavery was once more brought up for discussion. jyj 

The Democratic convention met at Baltimore to nomi- 1- 
nate a candidate for the office of President. Two sets of 
delegates appeared from New York, both claiming to be 
the true representatives of the Democracy of that State. 

No compromise could reconcile the parties, and the con- 
vention solved the difficulty by excluding both from its 
deliberations. It then proceeded to nominate Senator 
Lewis Cass, of Michigan, for President, and General 
William 0. Butler, of Kentucky, for Vice-President. 

The delegates representing the Whig party, and those 
opposed to the measures of the administration, met at 
Philadelphia, and nominated General Zachary Taylor for 
President, and Millard Fillmore, of New York, for Vice- 
President. J^°^ 

One portion of the Democracy of New York accepted 
the nominations of the Baltimore convention ; another 
portion rejected them. The latter called a convention, 
at Buffalo of those who were opposed to the extension of 
slavery into free territory. They adopted a platform in 
49 



1. 



770 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CH^P- favor of " Free Soil," and nominated ex-president Van 

, Buren for the Presidency and Charles Francis Adams 

1848. (son of John Quincy Adams) for the Vice-Presidency. 
* "^' A spirited canvass followed, and the candidates of 

the Whig party were elected. 

During the last year of this administration, Wisconsin 
was admitted into the Union as a State, and Minnesota 
organized as a Territory. 

A new Department, that of the Interior, was created 
by Congress, to relieve the Secretary of the Treasury of 
part of his duties. 

On the fifth of March, the fourth occurring on the 
Sabbath, the new President was inducted into office. 

Mr. Polk, broken down in health, retired to his home 
in Nashville, Tennessee, where in a few months he was 
June, numbered with the dead. A man of exemplary char- 
acter ; he was lamented by the people. 



I 



CHAPTER LV. 

TAYLOR AND FILLMORE'S ADMINISTRATION. 

Discussion on Slavery. — Wilmot Proviso. — The Powers of tlie Constitution ; 
their Application in the Territories. — Thirty-first Congress. — President's 
Message ; its Recommendations. — Debate on the Omnibus Bill. — Deatli 
of Calhoun. — Death of President Taylor. — Fillmore Inaugurated. — 
The Fugitive Slave Law. — The Mormons ; their Origin ; Troubles ; 
Settlement in Utah. — A Disunion Convention. — Lopez invades Cuba. — 
The Search for Sir John Franklin. — Dr. E. K. Kane. — Death of Henry 
Clay ; of Daniel Webster. — The Tripartite Treaty. — Presidential 
Election. 

General Zachary Taylor was a native of Virginia ; but chap. 

wlien he was very young, his father removed to Kentucky, 

and on the frontiers of that State he spent his youth as a 1849. 
farmer. At the age of twenty-four he received a com- 
mission in the army from President Jefferson, and en- i808. 
tered upon a career more congenial to his tastes than cul- 
tivating the soil. For forty years he was in the military 
service of his country ; his sphere of duty was on the 
frontiers ; and thus situated he had never even voted 
at an election. Honest and frank, blest with common 
sense and firmness of purpose, he was withal unselfish 
and patriotic, and uncontaminated with political intrigues. 
His inaugural address on taking the ofiice of President, 
was brief, and confined to a declaration of general prin- 
ciples. His cabinet, at the head of which was John 
M. Clayton of Delaware, was at once confirmed by the 
Senate. 



772 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. The question of slavery had appeared under different 

phases. For twelve years after the passage of the Mis- 

1820. souri Compromise, the subject had not been agitated in 
Congress, but now attention was drawn to it by the jire- 
sentation of memorials, praying that body to abolish the 
slave-trade and slavery in the District of Columbia. 
Meantime others, who looked upon the system as an evil 
to be remedied at all hazards, sent through the mail to 
1832. the South jrablications, addressed to the slave-owners 
themselves, and designed to influence them in favor of 
emancipation ; but there were others who sent papers 
that contained engravings by no means calculated to 
make the slave contented with his lot. The fear was 
great lest the latter might become the occasion of insur- 
rections and blood-shed. President Jackson recommended 

1835. to Congress to pass a law prohibiting the use of the mail 
for the circulation of " incendiary publications." But the 
bill to that effect did not become a law. The excitement 
was great, both North and South : in the former sometimes 
developing itself in violent measures against the abolition- 
ists ; in the latter, some broke into the post-offices and 
destroyed the obnoxious papers, and others raised the cry 
of disunion, while, so embittered, had the feeling become 

1836. Jq Congress, that for a time memorials on the subject 
would not be received. 

Now the slavery agitation was a legacy left by the 
previous administration — a question which overshadowed 
all others, and almost exclusively engaged the attention 
1846. of Congress and the nation. Three years before the Wil- 
mot Proviso had initiated the discussion, which was fast 
acquiring a tone of bitterness hitherto unknown. The 
contents of the newspapers showed that the question had 
penetrated into every nook and corner of the land — in 
social circles and in the retirement of the fireside — all 
were alive to the importance of the subject at issue ; the 



DISCUSSION ON THE EXTENSION OF SLAVERY. 773 

emotions of a nation swayed in the storm of clashing chap. 
opinions. 



1849. 



The annexation of Texas and the consequent war with 
Mexico, came to be looked upon as designed to further 
the interests of slavery, and to commit the nation to the 
policy of extending that system. Those opposed to such 
measures endeavored to counteract them by means of the 
Proviso, but that had failed to receive the sanction of 
Congress. With the exception of Texas proper, it was 
uncertain whether the newly-acquired territories would 
admit slavery ; the indications were that they would re- 
ject it. And this feature of the controversy gave rise to 
another question ; how to introduce the system into free 
territory. Would Congress subvert the law of Mexico, 
which had long since prohibited human bondage within 
her limits ? That body never at any time had interfered 
with slavery as existing in the States, neither had it 
directly legislated it into free territory : the policy had 
rather been not to interfere with the inhabitants in de- 
ciding the question for themselves. 

The last Congress, absorbed in the turmoil of the dis- 
cussion, had dissolved without providing governments for 
the territories. To remedy this evil. President Taylor in- 
structed the Federal officers in these territories to en- 
courage the people to organize temporary governments for 
themselves. 

President Polk in his last message had recommended 
that the Missouri Compromise line of thirty-six degrees 
thirty minutes north latitude, be extended to the Pacific, 
and thus leave the territory south of that line liable to be 
made slaveholding. Motions to that effect failed in Con- 
gress. That line had been adopted for tlie Louisiana 
territory alone, which was slave, and it made one side free, 
but if it was produced to the Pacific it would pass through 
free territory, and therefore make one side slave. 



774 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. Tlie advocates of the system contended that they had 
a right to go into any of the territories and take with them 

1819. their property, meaning slaves. That was admitted, hut 
only under the laws of Congress, which so far protected 
such property, but it was denied that the slaveholder 
could carry with him the municipal law of the State from 
which he emigrated, any more than the emigrant from a 
free State could take 'n'ith him its peculiar laws. 

The same object was sought by attempting to " ex- 
tend the constitution of the United States to the terri- 
tories," and this under the form of an amendment attached 
to the general appropriation bill, providing a temporary 
government for the ceded territories, and extending to 
them certain acts of Congress. The proposition elicited 
a discussion in which Calhoun and Webster each took 
part. The former argued that the Constitution recog- 
nized slavery ; that it was the supreme law of the land ; 
therefore it was superior to every law in opposition to 
slavery, not only overriding any territorial law to that 
effect, but even superior to any law of Congress designed 
to abolish it ; and that the property of the South, mean- 
ing slaves, would thus be protected by the Constitution 
in the territories into which Calhoim ojoenly avowed his 
intention to thus carry the institution of slavery. " The 
Constitution," said he, " pronounces itself to be the su- 
preme law of the land ; " the States as well as the Ter- 
ritories. 

Mr. Webster replied that the Constitution was made 
for the States and not for the Territories ; that Congress 
governed the latter independently of the Constitution, 
and often contrary to it, and was constantly doing things 
in the Territories that it could not do in the States ; and 
that the Constitution could not operate of itself in the 
Territories. " When new territory has been acquired," 
said he, " it has always been subject to the laws of Con- 



THE POWERS OF THE CONSTITUTION. 715 

gress, to such laws as Congress thought proper to pass for chap. 

its immediate government and preparatory state in which 

it was to remain until it was ready to come into the 1849. 
Union as one of the family of States." He quoted the 
Constitution itself, which declares that " it and the laws 
of Congress passed under it shall he the supreme law o 
the land." Thus it required a definite law of Congress 
to estahhsh slavery in the Territories under the Constitu- 
tion, as shown by the words of that instrument itself 

The amendment failed in both houses ; hut it became 
the germ of another doctrine, that the Constitution of the 
United States, independently of an act of Congress, but 
in spite of it, not only goes of itself to the territories but 
carries with it a shield protecting slavery. 

During this session of Congress meetings were held at 
Washington, attended by a majority of the members of 
Congress from the slave-holding States, to take into con- 
sideration the measures best adapted to secure southern 
rights. 

They published an Address to the people of the South. 
It was drawn uj) by Calhoun, and by no means was it 
conciliatory in its tone and sentiments, and for that 
reason it failed to enlist in its favor all the delegates from 
the South. In truth it became a party measure. Only 
forty members, all from the slaveholding States, signed 
their names to the Address : of these, thirty-eight belonged 
to the Democratic party. 

This manifesto was soon followed by a Southern Con- 
vention to dissolve the Union. The Legislatures of two 
of the States, South Carohna and Mississippi, issued a 
call for a " Southern Congress," to frame a government 
for a " United States South." 

The agitation was not limited to the South ; the 
North was as busdy engaged in canvassing the exciting 
question, and both parties were summoning their energies 
for the conflict in the new Congress about to meet. 



776 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP. The thirty-first Congress, called a month earlier than 
LV. •' o 5 

the usual time, met in its first session. Parties were 

1849. nearly e(|ually divided. The House spent three weeks, 
g**^' and balloted sixty times for a speaker, and only succeeded 
hy changing the rule by which a majority of the whole is 
required to elect, to that of a plurality. Mr. C. HoweU 
Cobb, of Georgia, was elected ; his competitor was Mr. 
Kobert C. Winthrop, of Massachusetts. 

The first and only annual message of President Taylor 
was sent iu. He saw the difficulties which lay in his 
path. The bitterness of piarty had been increased by 
sectional feelings. The President felt the responsibility 
of his position ; but he fearlessly yet temperately gave his 
views, and plainly intimated that he should not shrink 
from his duty to the Union itself ; deprecated sectional 
controversies, and referred to Washington in confirmation 
of this sentiment. 

The points at issue were various, and he recommended 
a plan to settle each. As California, whose population 
had increased so rapidly, had framed a Constitution, he 
advised that she should be at once admitted into the 
Union ; that New Mexico and Utah should be organized 
as territories, and when they were prepared to come into 
the Union as States, be permitted to decide the question 
of slavery for themselves ; and that the dispute between 
Texas and New Mexico, in relation to their boundaries, 
should be settled by the judicial authority of the United 
States. 

Early in the session Henry Clay moved in the Senate 
a series of resolutions designed to settle these disputes by 
a compromise. A committee of thirteen was appointed, 
to whom these resolutions and the various plans which 
had been proposed were referred. In due time Mr. Clay, 
as chairman, reported. The spirit of the resolutions was 
combined in one measure, which, from its character and 
the dissimilar objects it was designed to accomplish, was 



DISCUSSION ON THE COMPROMISE BILL. 777 

styled the Omnilms Bill. It proposed the admission of chap. 

California ; the organization, without mention of slavery, 

of the territories of New Mexico and Utah ; the arrange- 1849. 
ment of the Texas boundary, by paying the latter ten 
millions of dollars ; the abolition of the slave trade in the 
District of Columbia, and the enactment of a more 
stringent fugitive slave law. 

Senator Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, insisted that 1850. 
the bill was not equal in its provisions, because the South 
gained nothing by the measure ; and he urged that the 
Missouri line of compromise should be extended to the 
Pacific, " with the specific recognition of the right to hold 
slaves in the Territory below that line." 

To tliis Clay replied, that " no earthly power could 
induce him to vote for a specific measure for the introduc- 
tion of slavery where it had not existed, either north or 
south of that line." " I am unwilling," continued he, 
" that the posterity of the present inhabitants of Califor- 
nia and of New Mexico should reproach us for doing just 
what we reproach Grreat Britain for doing to us." " If 
the citizens of those Territories come here with Constitu- 
tions establishing slavery, I am for admitting them into 
the Union ; but then it will be their own work and not 
ours, and their posterity will have to reproach them and 
not us." 

Calhoun, now near to death, in a speech read by a 
friend, urged that if the Union would be preserved, it 
must be by an equal number of slave and free States, to 
maintain the number of senators equal in the Senate. 

" The incurabiUty of the evil," said Senator Benton, 
of Missouri, " is the greatest objection." " It is a ques- 
tion of races, involving consequences which go to the 
destruction of one or the other ; this was seen fifty years 
ago, and the wisdom of Virginia balked at it then. It 
seems to be above human reason. But there is a wisdom 



July, 



778 HISTOEY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, above human ! and to that we must look. In the mean- 

JjV. , 

, time not extend the evil." 

1849. Soon after this occurred the death of John C. Calhoun. 

He first entered Congress in 1811, and during almost 
forty years had filled various ofiices in the service of his 
country. A man of primitive tastes and simple manners, 
uniting the kindliest of feelings with unflinching integrity, 
and devotion to duty. The latter portion of his public 
career was marked by the most strenuous advocacy of 
gi_' States' rights and Southern institutions. 

A few months later President Taylor was also num- 
bered with the dead. He suddenly became iU with a 
violent fever, which terminated his life in a few days, after 
he had held oflice sixteen months. He had shown him- 
self equal to the emergency ; and his death was a public 
calamity indeed. Though elected by one party, his policy 
and acts were approved by all, and the whole nation 
mourned his loss. 



MILLARD FILLMOEE. 

The Vice-President, on the 10th of July, took the 
oath, and was inaugurated as President. It was done 
without show or parade ; merely a joint committee of 
three from each House of Congress, and the members of 
the cabinet, attended him. The oath was administered 
by the venerable William Cranch, Chief Justice of the 
Circuit Court of the District of Columbia, who, appointed 
by John Adams, had held the office for fifty years. Not 
an unnecessary word was spoken ; the ceremony was one 
of deep solemnity. 

The first official act of Mr. Fillmore was to call upon 
Congress to take suitable measures for the funeral of the 
late President, " who had been so recently raised by the 
unsolicited voice of the people to the highest civil authority 



ADMISSION OF CALIFORNIA. 779 

in the government." An impressive funeral service was *^?y^- 

performed, and eulogies pronounced upon him by many of 

the leading statesmen of the country. The Cabinet re- 1850. 
signed, and the President nominated another, at the head 
of which was Daniel Webster as Secretary of State. 

Four months had nearly elapsed since Henry Clay 
reported his Compromise BUI. Its provisions had been 
thoroughly discussed by the members of both Houses. It 
was then taken up article by article and passed — the last 
the Fugitive Slave law. The similar law which had been Sept. 

• ... 1 ft 

enacted in 1787, as part of tlie ordinance prohibiting 
slavery in the Territory north-west of the Ohio, and also 
a law to the same effect passed during Washington's ad- 
ministration, were thought to be defective, and a new one i793_ 
was framed. 

The Supreme Court of the United States held the 
opinion that justices of the peace in the respective States, 
were not called upon to enforce the law for the rendition 
of slaves. Since the agitation of the slavery question in 
Congress, a dislike to enforcing that law had greatly in- 
creased in the free States. The feeling reached the 
Legislatures and some of them, by law, prohibited the use 
of their jails for the confinement of fugitive slaves, and 
the justices of the peace refused to act on the subject. 
To obviate the latter difficulty the present bill provided 
for the appointment of United States' commissioners, 
before whom such cases could be tried. 

When the vote on the reception of CaUfornia was 
taken, and she admitted to the Union, her senators, Wm. 
M. Gwin and John C. Fremont, wlio had been in waiting, 
immediately took their seats. 

The vast region known as Utah, was in the possession 
of the Indians and the Mormons or Latter Day Saints, a 
religious sect. It was founded by Joseph Smith, a native 
of Vermont, but at that time a resident of Central New i827. 



780 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATKS. 

CHAP. York ; illiterate and superstitious, cunning and unprin- 

cipled ; when a youth he loved to dupe liis companions ; 

1850. at the age of fifteen he pretended that he had seen visions ; 
and at twenty-two that he had received a direct revelation 
from heaven ; that he had been directed to a certain hill, 
where he would find golden plates, covered with Egyptian 
characters, which he alone, as a prophet, was empowered 
to decipher. This was the famous " Book of Mormon." 
It professed to give a new system of religion, and to 
chronicle events^ which occurred on this continent long an- 
terior to the Christian era. 

It is said a man named Spaulding, when laboring 
under ill health wrote the story to alleviate his hours of 
ennui ; after his death the manuscript fell into the hands 
of Smith, who unscrupulously used it to deceive his fel- 
low-men. 

His system of polygamy led to gross immoralities ; 
and the vicious, as well as the ignorant, some of whom 
may have been honest, became his disciples. In five 

1S33. years he had twelve hundred followers. At this time the 
whole sect removed to Jackson county, Missouri. As 
they professed to be the true saints, by virtue of which 
they were to become the inheritors of the western country, 
they became objects of distrust to the Missourians. The 
militia were called out, but the Mormons avoided a con- 

184:0. flict by crossing the river to Illinois. 

They prepared to make that State their home. On a 
blutf, overlooking the Mississippi, they founded a city, 
Nauvoo, and erected an imposing temple. Thefts and 
robberies were numerous in the vicinity, and these crimes 
were attributed to the Mormons, some of whom were 
arrested. The saints, it was said, controlled the courts, for 
the prisoners were speedily liberated. An intense excite- 
ment was produced in the country by these proceedings. 
At length the Prophet himself, and a brother, were ar- 
rested and thrown into prison in the town of Carthage. 



SALT LAKE CITY — DISUNION CONVENTION. 781 

A mob collected a few clays after, and in the melee the ^^^^• 

brothers were slain. The spirit aroused against them was 

so violent that the Mormons could find safety alone in 1844. 
flight, and the following year they sold their possessions, 
left their beautiful city, which contained ten thousand in- 
habitants, and under chosen elders emigrated away across \ 
the plains and over the Eocky Mountains, and finally j 
found a resting place in the Great Basin. As they were 
now upon the soil of Mexico, they hoped their troubles 
were at an end. They significantly called their new 
home, Deseret — the land of the Honey Bee. To recruit 
their numbers they sent missionaries to every quarter of 
the globe ; that these zealous apostles have met with 
astonishing success in obtaining proselytes, is a sad 
reflection. 

Meantime they labored with great zeal in founding a 
city on the shores of the Great Salt Lake. It is on ground 
four thousand three hundred feet above the level of the , 

ocean, and planned on a large scale ; its streets eight I 

rods wide, and every house surrounded by a garden. 

Presently came the war with Mexico, and the ceding 
of all that region to the United States. The Mormons 
were the first to organize themselves as a territory under 
the name of Deseret, but Congress saw proper to change 
the name to Utah. President Fillmore appointed Brigham 
Young, one of their elders, the first governor. 1850. 

After the passage of the Compromise Bill, the agita- 
tion by no means ceased in the south. The design of 
seceding from the Union was openly avowed. A Disunion 
Convention met at Nashville, Tennessee. It invited the 
assembling of a " Southern Congress," but the legislatures 
of only two States responded to the call — South Carolina , 

and Mississippi. The former elected their quota of repre- 
sentatives to the Congress. The great mass of the people 
were moved but little by these appeals, and the country 



782 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, breatlied more freely in the confident belief that the vexed 

question was really at rest. 

1850. In no previous discussion of the subject did the great 

majority of the people of the Union manifest so much 
interest, not because it had become more important, but 
a great change had been wrought, since, thirty years be- 
fore, the country was agitated by the discussions, which 
led to the enactment of the Missouri Compromise. The 
number of newspapers had increased at an unprecedented 
rate, and with them the facilities for publishing general 
intelligence and reporting the debates in Congress, and 
now was added the telegraph, which seemed almost to 
bring the ears of the nation to the Halls of Legislation. 
Yet in a still greater proportion had the numbers of in- 
telligent readers increased, millions of whom became 
familiar with the question and the principles involved, 
and watched with increasing interest every new phase the 
subject assumed. This may account for the earnestness 
which characterized this conflict of opinions ; the mass of 
the people read and judged for themselves. The philan- 
thropist may not dread the response of their hearts ; — they 
may be slow to act, but they are untrammelled by pledges 
and uninfluenced by political aspirations. 

About the commencement of Taylor's administration, 
General Lopez, a Spaniard, endeavored to create a revo- 
lution in Cuba. He represented that the j^eople of that 
island were anxious and prepared to throw ofl' the yoke of 
the mother country ; and by this means he persuaded large 
numbers of adventurous spirits in the United States to 
engage in the enterprise. The pretext was to aid the 
Cubans ; but the real object was to secure the annexation 
of the island to the United States. President Taylor 
promptly issued a proclamation forbidding citizens of the 
Union to engage in the expedition. The warning was 
unheeded, and a company of six hundred men, under the 



■f 



SIR JOHN FRANKLIN DR. E. K. KANE. 783 

lead of Lopez, eluded the United States' authorities, and chap. 

landed at Cardenas. But not meeting with sympathy 

from the people whom they professed to have come to 1850. 
liberate, they re-embarked, and sailed for Key West, ^Y. 
Florida, barely escaping capture on the way by a Spanish 
steam-vessel of war. 

The following year the attempt was renewed. A party 
of four hundred and eighty men landed on the island, but 
were almost immediately overpowered and captured. 
Lopez and a number of his deluded followers were put to 
death by the Spanish authorities at Havana. 

In 1845, Sir John Franklin sailed from England in 
quest of the long sought for north-west passage. No tid- 
ings had ever been received from him, and the several 
efforts to send him aid had been unsuccessful. The sym- 
pathies of the humane were enlisted in behalf of the daring 
navigator. Mr. Henry Grinnell, a noble-hearted New 
York merchant, fitted out, at his own expense, an expedi- 
tion which, under the command of Lieutenant De Haven, 
of the United States' navy, sailed for the Arctic regions 
in May, 1850. With De Haven went Dr. E. K. Kane, 
in the capacity of surgeon and naturalist. The search 
was unsuccessful, and the vessels returned. 

The United States' Government now sent another 1851. 
expedition on the same errand of mercy in connection 
with Mr. Grinnell. The control of this was given to Dr. 
Kane, whose scientific attainments were of a high order, 
and whose prudence and indomitable energy excited high 
hopes of the success of the enterprise. The search was 
fruitless ; the results of the discoveries made have been 
embodied and given to the world. Sir John has no doubt 
long since perished, while his unknown friend. Dr. Kane, 
broken down in health because of his labors and privations, 
has also closed his life. 

Two of our greatest statesmen, with whose names for 
a third of a century are associated some of the most im- 



784 



EISTOKY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



CHAF. portant measures of the government, jDassed away. Henry 

Clay and Daniel Webster : The one at Washington, the 

1852. other at his home at Marshliekl. 

28. No two men were more endeared to the American 

Oct. people. Henry Clay, by his generous frankness, and 
nobleness of character won their love. Daniel Webster 
in his mighty intellect towered above his peers, and com- 
manded their respect ; of him they were proud. 

Spain became alarmed at the attempts of lawless ad- 
venturers striving to wrest Cuba from her hands. France 
and England sympathized with her, and projjosed to the 
United States to join with them in a " tripartite treaty," 
in which each should disclaim any intention of seizing 
upon that island, but, on the contrary, should guarantee 
its iDOSsession to Spain. A correspondence to this effect 
had already commenced, and to the proposal Edward 
Everett, who since the death of Webster was Secretary of 
State, replied in the negative. " The President," said he, 
" does not covet the acquisition of Cuba for the United 
Stateg." Yet he " could not see with indifference that 
island fall into the possession of any other European Gov- 
ernment than Spain." It was shown that this was a 
question peculiarly American, from the situation of the 
island itself ; its proximity to our shores ; its commanding 
the approach to the Gulf of Mexico, and to the entrance 
to the Mississippi, which with its tributaries forms the 
largest system of internal water-communication in the 
world, and also its ability to interfere with the passage to 
California by the Isthmus route. It was another state- 
ment of the celebrated Monroe doctrine, that the United 
States did not recognize European interference in ques- 
tions purely American. 

For President the Whigs nominated General Scott, 
and the Democrats, Franklin Pierce, of New Hampshire. 



DEATH OF WILLIAM E. KING. 785 

The latter was elected, in connection with William E. ^^^^• 

King, of Alabama, as Vice-President. Mr. King had been L 

United States' Senator from that State — with the ex- 1852. 
ception of four years, when he was American minister at 
the court of France — since 1819, compelled by declining 
health he went to Cuba, when he took the oath of office. 
Then he returned home, not to enter upon the duties of 
the Vice-Presidency, but to die. 



50 



CHAPTER LVI. 

PIERCE'S ADMINISTRATION. 

Purchase of the Mesilla Valley. — Treaty with Japan. — The Kansas-Ne- 
braska Bill. — The effects of the Measure. — Emigrants to Kansas.— 
Struggles and Conflicts. — James Buchanan, President. — The Contest 
continues in Kansas. — National Progress. 

LVI." The new President inaugurated on the 4th of March, 

was a native of New Hampshire, a graduate of Bowdoin 

1853. QoUege, and by profession a lawyer. He had served in 
the legislature of his native State, two teiins in the House 
of Representatives at Washington and nearly a term in 
the Senate of the United States. William L. Marcy, of 
New York, was appointed Secretary of State. 

Owing to the incorrectness of the maps used when the 
treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was made, a dispute arose as 
to the proper boundaries between New Mexico and the 
Mexican province of Cliihuahua. Both parties claimed 
the Mesilla Valley, said to be fertile, but more important 
for affording facilities for a road to California. Santa 
Jan- Anna, who was again President of the republic of Mexico, 
and intent, as usual, on driving a bargain, took possession 
of the territory in dispute. The United States obtained 
the valley, and the free navigation of the Gulf of Cali- 
fornia and of the river Colorado, to the American boun- 
dary by paying the Mexican government ten millions of 
dollars. 



8. 



TREATY WITH JAPAN THE NEBRASKA BILL. 787 

The acquisition of California made the importance of chap. 

commercial treaties with the nations of eastern Asia more 

and more apparent. During Fillmore's term, Commodore 1853. 
Perry, brother of the hero of Lake Erie, was sent with 
a squadron to open communication with the empire of 
Japan. The inhabitants of those islands from time im- 
memorial had excluded foreigners. The authorities were 
greatly astonished at the boldness of the Commodore, 
when he appeared with his steamers — the first that ever 
floated on those waters — in the Bay of Jeddo. He was 
ordered to depart ; but he declined and insisted on seeing 
the proper authorities, and making known to them the 
object of his friendly visit. At length a Japanese officer 
appeared, who promised to lay the matter before the em- 
peror. The 14th of July was the day named to receive 
the letter from the President. 

The Commodore, escorted by a company of marines, 
landed. He was received with the pomp of an oriental 
pageant, and an answer to the letter promised the following 
spring. The answer was received and a treaty concluded. 
The merchants of the United States obtained permission 
to trade in two specified ports — Simodi and Hakodadi — 
and also for the residence of American citizens and con- 
suls at the ports, as well as to visit without molestation 
in the interior, ten or twelve miles. April. 

The measure that will render the administration of 
Pierce famous, was the bill to organize the territories of 
Nebraska and Kansas. This was an immense region — 
extending from the confines of Missouri, Iowa and Min- 
nesota to the east of the Eocky Mountains, and from 
thirty-six degrees thirty minutes north latitude, to the 
British possessions. This vast territory was a part of the 
Louisiana Purchase, from which, by the Missouri Com- 
promise, the system of slavery had been excluded. 

In part this region had been assigned to the various 



788 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



^^^j^- tribes of Indians, who years before, to make wa}' for set- 
tiers, bad removed from their lands north-west of the 

1853. Ohio. The white settlers who had gone to that region 
vdshed that the Indian tribes should be extinguished, and 
a territorial government established. 

In accordance with this wish Senator Stephen A. 
j^jj Douglas, of Illinois, proposed a bill in the United States' 

1854. Senate, to organize this region into two territories, to be 
known as Kansas and Nebraska. This bill contained a 
clause repealing the Missouri Comj^romise, under the plea 
that it " was inconsistent with the principle of non-in- 
tervention by Congress with slavery in the States and 
Territories, as recognized by the compromise measures of 
1850 ; " " it being the true intent of the act to leave the 
people thereof perfectly free to form and regulate their 
domestic institutions in their own way, subject only to 
the Constitution of the United States." 

The iieople were taken by surprise. The question, 
so destructive to national harmony, and which it was 
hoped had been settled forever, had assumed a new form. 
The Missouri Compromise had been deemed a sacred com- 
pact between the south and the north, and as such, for 
the third of a century, had received the sanction of all 
parties. The irritations caused by the fiery discussions 
in Congress four years previous were by no means yet 
healed. A deep-toned feeling was excited, especially in 
the northern States. 

It was just fifty years since the purchase of the ter- 
ritory, and up to this time nearly all its benefits had been 
enjoyed by those who held slaves. Meantime emigrants 
from the free States had been compelled, from their un- 
wilKngness to come in contact with slavery, to seek their 
homes and farms north of Missouri, and forego the ad- 
vantages of the genial climate found in the latitude of 
that State. 

These free laborers, as well as those who intended to 



EMIGEANTS TO KANSAS. 7SS 

seek homes in the west, complamed that this region, ™^'^- 

guaranteed to them by the Missouri Compromise, should 

be rendered liable to be made slaveholding. Conventions 1854. 
were held and petitions poured into both Houses of Con- 
gress, imploring those bodies not to disturb the tranq^uillity 
of the country, nor violate the compact so long held 
sacred. The South did not participate so much in this 
feeling. 

In reply to these remonstrances it was said, the prin- 
ciple of " Squatter or Popular Sovereignty," would obviate 
all difficulty ; by this principle the people of the territory 
would be free in their political action, and when they 
came to form their state constitutions, and ask admission 
into the Union, they could exercise this right and adopt 
or reject slavery. With this interpretation the bill jjassed 
Congress, after nearly four months' discussion, was signed 
by the President, and became the law of the land. May. 

Now came the struggle to secure the new State by 
sending emigrants, whose votes were to decide the ques- 
tion. Two years before, and not with reference to a con- 
tingency of this kind, the Legislature of Massachusetts 
incorporated a company known as " The Emigrants' Aid 
Society." This association had been inactive, but now its 
aid was invoked, and numbers were assisted to emigrate 
to Kansas. Similar societies were formed in other north- 
ern States. The emigrants from the free States went to 
remain and improve their claims, and found homes for 
their families. Emigrants came also from the Southern 
States, but with the exception of those who came from 
Missouri only a limited number have remained in the ter- 
ritory to improve their claims. 

Conflicting opinions soon produced political parties 
known as Pro-Slavery and Free-State, and the practical 
application of the doctrine of " popular sovereignty " was 



790 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAP, appealed to, to test whicli party had the majority, and 



according to true democracy should rule. 



1854. The first territorial election was held to choose a dele- 

°^' gate to Congress, and four months later — a census in the 

Mar. meantime having been taken and the territory divided 
into districts — another election was held to choose members 
to the Territorial Legislature. In both of these elections, 
the pro-slavery party claimed that they had chosen their 
candidates, but the free-state men repudiated the elec- 
tion as fraudulent ; giving as a reason that the polls were 
controlled by armed men from Missouri. 

The Territorial Legislature assembled at Pawnee and 

J"ly immediately adjourned to the Shawnee ]\Iission, near the 
Missouri State line. They passed a series of laws, to 
which Governor Eeeder refused his signature, on the 
ground that the Legislature, by the organic act, could not 
change the place of meeting appointed by himself. These 
laws were however passed by a two-thirds vote. 

The Free State men held conventions, denied the le- 
gality of the legislature, and refused to obey the laws en- 
acted by it, and made arrangements to choose delegates 
to a Convention to form a Constitution. In due time this 

Oct. Convention assembled at Topeka, framed a Constitution 
rejecting slavery, and ordered it to be submitted to the 
vote of the peojjle, who ratified it. One month later the 
people chose State officers and members for a State Legis- 
lature. Soon after Governor Reeder was removed from 

j5 ■ his office by the President. 

During these ten months confusion reigned in the 
Territory. Outrages of almost every kind were com- 
mitted, robberies, murders, illegal arrests and property 
destroyed, most of which belonged to the Free State 
settlers. 

Wilson Shannon, of Ohio, who had recently been ap- 
pointed Governor, now appeared and assumed office. He 



ffi 



CONGRESS APPOINTS A COMMITTEE OF INVESTIGATION. 791 

declared himself in favor of the laws enacted at the Shaw- ™^- 

nee Mission. 

The government, under the Free-State Constitution, 1855. 
was organized, and the contest took the form of civil war. -^^ 

4. ' 

At the opening of the session of Congress, the delegate Dec. 
from Kansas, chosen as related above, ajipeared and de- ■^^^^• 
manded his seat. After a spicy discussion the House refused 
the demand, but appointed a committee to proceed to the 
Territory and summon witnesses in relation t» the recent 
elections. In a month's time the committee had arrived Mar. 
in Kansas, and commenced the investigation. Their ^^• 
report sustained the charge that those elections had been 
carried by fraud. 

The summer of 1856 was signalized by the commission 
of many outrages, committed in different parts of the Ter- 
ritory. The Free-State men armed themselves, and 
determined to defend their rights. Several conflicts en- 
sued and many lives were lost. Presently Shannon 
received notice of his removal from office, and John W. 
Geary, of Pennsylvania, soon appeared as his successor. 
The new governor honestly labored to restore harmony. 
He ordered " all bodies of men combined, armed, and 
equipped with munitions of war, without authority of the 
government, instantly to disband, and quit the territory." 
Upon this the companies of Free-State men nearly all 
disbanded, but it was only partially obeyed by the other 
party, who had concentrated a force of more than two 
thousand men. The Governor, with the dragoons, threw Sept. 
himself between them and the town of Lawrence and pre- 
vented another conflict. 

The presidential canvass was now in progress. The 
main question at issue — the extension of slavery into the 
Territories or its limitation to the States wherein it 
already existed. 



15. 



Nov. 
1856. 



792 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

^Lvf" Within a few years political issues had somewhat 

changed. A party known as American, had arisen ; their 

1853. main principle opposition to foreign influence, and their 
motto, " Americans should rule America." The follow- 
ing year they were successful in most of the state elections. 
Meantime arose another party, composed principally of 
Whigs and Democrats, who were opposed to the extension 
of slavery into free territory. They were known as Re- 
publicans. On the other hand the Democrats announced 
themselves trilling to let slavery go into the territories if 
the inhabitants thereof desired it. The latter party 
nominated James Buchanan, of Pennsylvania ; the Re- 
publicans, John C. Fremont, of California, and the 
Americans, ex-president Fillmore. 

The canvass was one of more than usual spirit. The 
passage of the Kansas-Nebraska bill had even added new 
interest to the main question at issue. It had taken deep 
hold of the minds of the people ; and they never before 
gave such evidence of their independence, and repudiation 
of mere party ties. 

Mr. Buchanan was elected President, and John 0. 
Breckenridge, of Kentucky, Vice-President. 



The House of Representatives at Washington passed 
a bill, declaring the acts of the Territorial Legislature of 
Kansas nvdl and void, both on the ground that its enact- 
ments " were cruel and oppressive," and that " the said 
legislature was not elected by the legal voters of Kansas, 
but was forced upon them by non-residents in violation of 

^^^- the organic act of the territory." This bill failed to pass 

1857. the Senate. 

On the 4th of March, Mr. Buchanan was inaugurated 
President. He was educated for the legal profession. 
At the age of twenty-three he served as a member of the 
Legislature of his native State. He was afterward a 



LECOMPTON CONVENTION. 793 

memter of the House of Kepresentatives ten years ; then c^p. 

Minister to Russia — sent by General Jackson — then a 

member of the Senate of the United States ; then Secre- 1857. 
tary of State, under President Polt, and then Minister to 
Great Britain. Senator Lewis Cass was appointed Secre- 
tary of State, by the new President. 

Under the auspices of the Territorial Legislature of 
Kansas an election was ordered for delegates to a conven- 
tion for the purpose of framing a constitution, but under 
conditions to secure a pro-slavery majority of delegates. 
The Free State men, for the reasons already given, as 
well as others, refused to take part in the election. It 
was held, however, and a pro-slavery delegation chosen. June. 
Meanwhile the other party published an address to the 
people of the United States, in which they set forth the 
wrongs they had endured, and to which they were still 
subject. 

Soon after Governor Geary resigned, and the President 
appointed Robt. J. Walker, of Mississippi. The new 
Governor endeavored to remedy these evils, and promised 
the people of the territoiy a free expression of their wishes 
at the polls. 

Owing to the influence of Governor Walker the Free 
State men consented to vote at the coming election for a 
delegate to Congress, and members for a Territorial Legis- 
lature. They, by a vote more than two to one, chose their 
candidates. Oct. 

Shortly after this election, the delegates chosen as we 
have seen, met in convention at Lecompton, and speedily 
framed a constitution. It contained a provision adopting 
slavery, and this provision alone, the convention submitted 
to the people of Kansas to ratify or reject. Connected 
with this was a clause which made it necessary for those 
who were challeuged at the polls "to take an oath to 
support the constitution if adopted," before they were 



794 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

^^^- permitted to deposit their vote. This was followed by a 
proviso that the constitution could not be amended before 



1857. the year 1864, and then only by the concurrence of two- 
thirds of the members of both Houses of the Legislature, 
and " a majority of all the citizens of the State." 

The Free State men refused to vote on the ratification 
of this constitution, as they denied the authority that 
framed it ; but it received some votes, and was declared 
adopted, and sent as such to Congress. There the discus- 
sion on the subject was as bitter as ever. It was denied 
that the people of Kansas were fairly treated in not 
having the opportunity to vote upon the adoption of the 
entire constitution as implied by the doctrine of " Popular 
Sovereignty," said to be the essence of the Kansas-Ne- 
braska bill. 
April Finally, a biU was passed to submit the constitution 

to the people of Kansas, but on two conditions ; one, that 
if they failed to ratify it, they would not be j^ermitted to 
enter the Union until they had a population of ninety- 
three thousand ; the other, if th6y did ratify it, they should 
receive certain of the public lands for State purposes. 
In the face of these strange conditions the people of 

1858. Kansas, on the 2d of August, rejected the constitution 
by an overwhelming majority. 

As was expedient and proper, we have given a sum- 
mary of the facts of this strange contest in Kansas. The 
events are of too recent occurrence to enter upon the 
causes or analyze the motives of the prominent movers in 
the affair. 



COKCLDSION. 795 

CHAP. 
CONCLUSION'. LVI. 

This Government, founded on the recognition of the 1859. 
civil and religious rights of man, may be regarded as an 
experiment now in process of trial. It is natural that 
under such a government the people should make progress 
in religion, in literature, in science, and in those me- 
chanical arts and inventions that promote the comfort 
and advancement of mankind. 

Let us take a rapid glance at the progress made by 
this youthful nation in the short life of seventy years. 
Since the first census, (1790,) the number of inhabitants 1789 
has increased more than sixfold, now amounting to at 
least twenty-six millions. In the same period foreign 
commerce has increased in value tenfold, from twenty to i859. 
two hundred millions of dollars, while the internal trade 
has reached five hundred millions. In connection with 
this has been a steady increase in the facQities for com- 
munication and transport, first by means of steamboats, igoy. 
which now abound upon our rivers and great lakes ; by 
means of canals connecting the lakes with the Atlantic 
and with the Ohio, and railroads, extending to all parts 
of the land, and which have increased to an aggregate ^327. 
length of more than thirty thousand miles, in operation or 
in process of construction. 

A steady progress has also been made in agriculture, 
in which a greater number is engaged than in any other 
employment, as farmers in the Northern, and planters in 
the Southern States. As an agricultural product, Indian 
corn stands first in value — three hundred millions of dol- Census, 
lars ; wheat, one hundred ; cotton, ninety-eight, and hay, ■^^"*'- 
ninety-six millions ; and so on, through the Ust of crops. 

The inventive genius of the people has been active in 
securing the powers of nature in adding to the comforts 
of human life. In implements for cultivating the soil 
there have been innumerable improvements, from the 



796 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

^vn' ^™P^^ ^06 to t^® steam-plougli, and from the primitive 

sickle to the reaping-machine. As striking have been the 

improvements in the steam engine, in ship building, in 
printing presses ; by means of one invented by Eichard 
M. Hoe, many thousand impressions can be taken in an 
hour. 

Prof Samuel F. B. Morse, a native of Massachusetts, 
then a resident of New York city, in whose university his 

1844. experiments were first made, gave to the world the Elec- 
tric Telegraph. It is vain to conjecture the benefit that 
wUl accrue to the human family from this invention ; 
may it be a harbinger of peace — a link to unite the nations 
in one common union. 

We have seen the character of the first settlers of this 
land ; their intelligence, their zeal in founding institutions 
imbued with the spirit of civil and rehgious liberty. The 

1819. time came to welcome another immigration. In 1819 
Congress first directed the collectors of ports to take cog- 
nizance of the foreigners who arrived in the country, and 
make returns of the same to the Secretary of State. That 

1854. immigration, subject to great fluctuations, in one year 
amounted to three hundred and seventy-two thousand. 
Of these the majority had no higher skill than to engage 
in the simplest forms of manual labor. They aided im- 
mensely in the development of the coimtry. Without 
their toil our canals would never have been dug nor our 
railroads built, nor the improvements in our towns and 
cities. They have received the recompense of then- daily 
labor, yet as a nation we acknowledge to them our ob- 
ligations. 

The cheap lands of the Great West ofi'ered induce- 
ments to the enterprising in the older States to emigrate, 
and while they levelled the forests and brought the wilder- 
ness under cultivation, the industry of the older States 
was stimulated, and by means of manufactures and com- 
merce they supplied their wants. Thus could be seen a 



♦!' 



COMMON SCHOOLS — THE PKESS. 797 

vast array of peaceful warriors, their front extending from c^^- 

south to north, nearly a thousand miles, marching west, 

and subduing the fertile valleys by the axe and plough- 
share ; advance parties have taken position on the shores 
of the Pacific, while a line of posts keep up communica- 
tion with the main force. 

The youth of the land have not been forgotten. Pub- igss. 
lie schools, having their origin in Massachusetts, have 
become the heritage of nearly all the States. At con- 
venient points. Congress has set apart of the public lands, 
nearly fifty millions of acres, for the special support of the 
common schools in the new States and territories. The 
older States, in the mean time, have been making laud- 
able exertions to increase their school funds. The num- 
ber of pupils in academies, and in the common and private 
schools, is more than three millions and a half ; and in 
colleges, theological seminaries, medical and law schools, 
the students number nearly twenty thousand. 

In no respect has the mental energy of the nation 
manifested itself so much as in the encouragement given 
to the public press. The common schools taught the 
youth to read ; the innate desire of acquiring knowledge 
was fostered, and the fascinating newsjDaper, as it statedly 
enters the domestic circle, reflects the world and records 
the progress of the age. Here " we meet with the 
speculations of wisdom and science, the efiusions of senti- 
ment, the sallies of wit." By this means the most retired 
can be brought into sympathy with the world, whether in 
in its wars and desolations, or in its glorious yearnings 
after excellence, peace, and happiness. 

At the commencement of the Revolution there were 
but tliirty-five newspapers, and they of a very limited 
circulation ; now there are nearly three thousand. The 
important questions of the time are discussed in their 
columns, and upon these questions the nation acts, and 
thence they pass into history. If the issues of the press 



798 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CH^. are kept pure, the blessing in all its greatness far trans- 

cends mortal ken. Public opinion has been termed a 

tyrant ; but it is a tyrant, that, if vicious, can be made vir- 
tuous ; can be reformed, if not, dethroned. Let the virtue 
and the intelligence of the nation see to it that it is a 
righteous tyrant, and submission to its iron rule becomes 
a blessing. 

In intimate connection with this intellectual progress 
is the increase of public libraries. These are as diversified 
as the wants of the people. There is the village or Sun- 
day school libraiy, with its few hundred volumes ; the 
social or circulating libraries, containing much of the 
current literature of the day. An important feature was 
introduced at the formation of the public Hbrary in New 
York city, bearing the name of its founder, John Jacob 
Astor, and since increased by his son. It is designed to 
furnish standard works on the varied subjects of useful 
human knowledge — an armory for the j^ractical student, 
through whom the influence is to reach those who cannot 
personally avail themselves of its treasures. 

In art we have those who have exhibited evidence of 
genius that may yet give the nation a name honored 
among those eminent in painting and sculpture. Her 
sons have not been surrounded by models from great 
masters to awaken in early life the slumbering genius, nor 
have they been encouraged by a traditionary reverence 
among the people for such manifestations of talent. It 
has been in the face of these disadvantages that they 
have reached their present high i:)Osition, not by passing 
through a training, laborious and preparatory, but almost 
at a bound. 

A nation may glory in her great men, but it is the 
great body of the people we rejoice to see associating 
themselves for purposes of doing good or for self-improve- 
ment. Such an association is the Temperance movement, 
which has had an immense influence for good upon the 



INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY — CHARITIES. 799 

nation. The moral phase of the subject has taken deep chap. 

hold of the minds and conscience of the people, and in 

the end the cause must prevaU- There is also no more 
cheering signs of the times, than the people themselves 
becoming more and more acquainted with their civil rights 
and duties, and in their demanding virtue and political 
integrity in those who serve them in a public capacity, 
and when there is a dereliction of duty, their appealing 
promptly to the ballot box. 

Governments had hitherto interfered more or less with 
the liberty of conscience ; they assumed that in some way 
they were responsible for the salvation of the souls of their 
subjects. Free inquiry and a kaowledge of the truths of 
the Bible, and the separation of church and state, shifted 
that responsibility to the individual himself, and it also 
became his recognized duty to support schools of learning 
and sustain religious institutions. This change in the 
minds of the people commenced in the Great Awakening 
under Jonathan Edwards. To this principle of individual 
responsibility may be traced the voluntary sujiport, and 
the existence of the various benevolent operations of the 
day, in which all the religious denominations participate. 
These in their efforts are not limited to the destitute 
portions of our own country, but in foreign lands also may 
be found the devoted teacher of Christianity and its 
humanizing civilization, supported and encouraged by the 
enlightened benevolence of his own countrymen. The 
same principle produces fruits in founding asylums for the 
purpose ^f relieving human suffering and distress, or 
smoothing the pathway of the unfortunate. The men of 
wealth more fully appreciate their responsibility, and the 
mental energy exercised in its accumulation, has been 
consecrated to doing good. Millions have thus been be- 
queathed to aid or to found institutions of learning, that 
the youth may be secured to virtue and intelligence — a 



800 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAj. blessed influence that will increase in power from age to 

'- age. 

We inherit the English language and its glorious as- 
sociations — the language of a free gospel, free speech, and 
a free press. Its literature, imbued with the iDrinciples 
of liberty, civil and reKgious, belongs to us ; we claim the 
worthies of the mother country whose writings have done 
so much to promote sound learning, a chaste literature 
and a pure morality, with no less gratitude and pride than 
we do those of our own land. The commerce of the world 
is in the hands of those speaking the English language ; 
on the coasts of Asia, of Africa, in Australia, in the Isles 
of the Pacific, it has taken foothold — may it be the means 
of disseminating truth and carrying to the ends of the 
earth the blessings of Christianity. 

The ultimate success of this Government, and the 
stability of its institutions, its progress in all that can 
make a nation honored, depend upon its adherence to the 
principles laid down by our fixthers. Let the part we are 
to perform in the world be not the subjugation of others 
to our sway by physical force, but the noble, the mag- 
nificent destiny, that has never fallen to any people, to 
subdue by the diifusion of a Christianized civilization. 



THE END. 



18 A»>rl .1860 



INDEX. 



Abenakis, 201 ; war with, 212. 

Abercrombie, Geuoral, 257. 

Abolition, 772. 

Aborigines, 7-10. 

Acadie, French, 35. 

Acadieiis, 35 ; expatriation, 243-248. 

Academy, West Point, 585 ; ofticcrfl, 728. 

Adams, John, 283, 298, 308, 324, 511 ; Vice 

President, 527; President, 547-554; 

death, 657. 
Adams, John Qiiincj-, 615 ; Preeident, 

655-660; death, 768. 
Adams, 3amiiel, 284, 296, 307. 
Ahasistari, 198, 200. 
Alamo, the, 686. 
Alien Act, 550. 
Algonquins, 9, 199. 
Allen, Etlian, 318, 338, 339. 
Allouez, 202. 

Amherst, Lord Jeffrey, 257, 261. 
Ampudia, General, 699, 707, 719. 
Andre, Major, 477-479. 
Andros, Sir Edmund, 178, 179. 
Annapolis Convention, 519. 
Appalachees, 149. 
Archdale, John, 147. 
Arista, General, 699, 703. 
Arkwrietht, Sir Richard, 533. 
Armed Neutrality, 483. 
Armstrong, Gen. John, 251, 421. 
Armstrong, Gen. John, jr., 513 ; Sec. of 

War, 598, 607. 
Arnold, Benedict, 318, 338, 342, 389, 403, 

406 ; Behmus' Heights, 434 ; treason, 

476-479, 488, 503. 
Ashburton, Lord, 680, 683. 
Assembly, Legislative, the first, 55. 
Associations, non-importation, 282, 296, 

298, 309. 
Astor Library, 798. 
Augustine, St., 32, 149, 164, 646. 
Austin, Moses, 685. 
Ayllon, Vasquez do, 13. 

Bacon, Nathaniel, 105-107. 
Bainbrldge, Captain, 557, 596. 
Balboa, Nufiez de, 11. 
Baltimore, Lord, 99, 100. 
Bancroft, George, 56, 278, 737. 
Bank of North America, 500. 

United States, 532, 642, 663. 
Barre, Colonel, 287. 
Bartram, 279. 
Beauraarchais, 412. 
Bennington, battle, 431. 

51 



Benton, Thomas H., 698. 

Berkeley, Sir William, 102, 103, 104-108. 

Bills of eredit, 442. 

Bladeimlrarg, battle, 625. 

Blair, Rev. James, 110. 

Blue Liek, battle, 510. 

Board of Trade, 164. 

Bonaparte's decrees afi'ecting American 
commerce, 56.'!, 673, 583. 

Boone, Daniel, 463, 510. 

Boston, 77, 95 ; Port Bill, 304 ; evacuated, 
356. 

Bouquet, General, 271. 

Boylston, Dr., 194. 

Braddock, General, 235-240. 

Bradford, William, 66, 71, 73. 

Bradstreet, Siraon, 75. 

Colonel, 258. 

Brandywine, battle, 420. 

Brant, Indian chief, 430. 

Bragg, Captain, 727. 

Brewster, William, 64, 65. 

Brock, General, 587. 

Brown, Gener.al Jacob, 617, 618. 

Buchanan, James, 693, 736, 754 : Presi- 
dent, 792. 

Buena Vista, battle, 716-728. 

Bnftalo burned, 608. 

Bunker Hill, battle, 328. 

Burgoyne, General, 327, 413 ; surrenders. 
437. 

Burke, Edmund, 293, 410, 429. 

Burr, Aaron, 554, 559-561. 

Burroughs, George, 192. 

Cabot, John, 15. 

Sebastien, 16, 17. 
Calef, Robert, 193. 
Caldwell, Rev. James, 470. 
Calhoun, John C, 678 ; V. President, 654, 

664,666; Sec. of St.ate, 690, 696, 774; 

death, 778. 
Calvin, John, 278. 
Cam.den, battle, 474. 
Canada, invasion of, 590, 618. 
Carleton, Sir Guv, 340, 359, 388, 611. 
Canonicus, 71, 79", SO. 
Carolina, 30, 141. 
Caroline affair, 681. 
Caron, Father le, 196. 
Carroll, John, bishop, 525. 
Cartier, James, 18-21. 
Carver, John, 63, 67. 
Cass, Lewis, 5S7, 769. 
Catawbas, 163. 



802 



INDEX. 



Catholic Church, 525. 

Cerro Gordo, battle, 750. 

Champlain, Samuel, 35, 36. 

Chapultepec taken, 762, 

Charities, 799. 

Charters, colonial, 46, 51, 91. 133, U2, 157, 

168. 
Charleston, 144, 150 ; taken 469. 
Chauncey, Captaio, 590. 
Cherokees, 152 ; war witli, 266, 656 ; re- 
moval of, 662. 
Chesapeake, aflair of, 566 ; capture of, 601. 
Chickasaws, 25, 218. 
Chihuahua taken, 743. 
Chippewa, battle, 618. 
Choctaws, 159, 217. 

Church of England, 59, 104, 111, 141, 151. 
Episcopal, 178, 179. 
and State, separation of, 525. 
Congregational, 524. 
Churnbusco, battle, 758. 
Cincinnati Society, 515. 
Claims against France, 671. 
Clarke, George Rogers, 464. 
Clarke and Lewis's explorations, 696. 
Clay, Gen. Green, 600. 
Clay Henry, 678, 581, 616, 651, 776 ; death, 

784. 
Clayborne, William, 99, 101. 
Clayton, John M., 667, 771. 
Clinton, Do Witt, 656. 

George, 325, 372, 515, 529; Vice 
Pres., 559. 
Clinton, 8ir Henry, 327, 332, 353, 438, 448, 

453, 460, 463, 468, 498, 508. 
Coddington, William, 81. 
Coke, Thomas, bishop, 524. 
Coligny, 29, 34. 

Colleges, 91, 110, 186, 224, 250, 279, 294. 
Colonization Society, 645. 
Columbus, Christopher, 2-6. 
Common sense, 366. 
Common schools, 91, 276. 
Commerce, increase of, 561. 
Commissioners, British, 449. 

of peace, 511-615. 
of customs, 302, 616. 
Company, London, 46, 98. 
Plymouth, 58, 75. 
Dutch E. India, 114. 
Compromises, constitutional, 521. 
Missouri, 648-651. 
of Texas, 1832, 667. 
of 1850, 779. 
Concord aud Lexington, battle, 314. 
Congress, 8tamp Act, 291. 

old Continental, 307. 

the second '* 323. 

Provincial, Mass., 313. 

Connecticut colony, 81 ; emigration to, 88, 

168. 
Constitution, federal, 521. 

powers of in the ter- 
ritories, 774, 775. 
Constitutions, colonial, 56, 67, 88. 
Conway Cabal, 444. 
Cooper, Sir Ashley, 142. 
Cortez, 12. 
Cornwallis Lord, 373, 385, 397, 474, 490 ; at 

Yorktown, 498, 505. 
Cowpens, battle, 489, 
Craven, Governor, 153. 
Creek-3, 152, 154, 159, 609, 656. 
Crockett, Davy, 687. 
Crown Point, 248, 323. 
Cruisers, French and English, 573. 
American, 345, 465. 



Culpepper, 109. 

Dahcotahs or Sioux, 9, 202. 

Dallas, George M., 693. 

Danburv burned, 406. 

Daniel, "Fatlier, 197, 201. 

Dartmouth College, 294. 

Davenport. Rev, John, 88. 

Davis, Jeflerson, 718, 722 ; senator, 777. 

Deane yilas, 412. < 

Dearborn, General Henry, 590, 607. 

Decatur, Stephen, 558, 641. 

Declaration of rights, 291, 309. 

independence, Mechlcnburg, 

322. 
Declaration of Independence by Congress, 

368. 
of war opposed, 584. 
Decrees affecting American commerce, 

563, 568, 573. 
Delaware, Lord, 53. 

Delawares, Christian, massacre of, 509, 
D'Estaing, Count, 452, 453, 462. 
Deposits, removal of, 668. 
De Vries, 116, 118-120. 
Deseret, 781. 

Dictatorship, Washington, 396, 424. 
Dieskau, 249, 250. 
Dinwiddle, Gov., 227, 259, 251. 
Dissenters, 141, 144, 148, 313. 
Disunion convention, 781. 
Donop, Count, 380, 426. 
Doniphan's Expedition, 741. 
Durr, Thomas W., 692. 
Dover destroyed, 209. 
Drake, Sir Francis, 41, 43. 
Dreuilettes, Father, 201. 
Druramond, William, 107, 108, 142. 
Dudley, Thomas, 75, 76. 

Joseph, 177, 180, 184. 
Duch6, Rev. Jacob, 308. 
Dunbar, Colonel, 236, 241. 
Dunmore, Lord, 320, 352. 
Dustin, Hannah, 212. 
Duties imposed, 295, 

Ecclesiastical organizations, 523-526. 

Edwards, Jonathan, 223, 799. 

Eliot. John, 9'3. 

Elizabeth, Queen, 60. 

Embargo, under Washington, 540. 

Jefferson, 568. 

Madison, 583. 
Endicott, John, 75, 84. 
English enterprise, 37. 
language, 800. 
Enterprise, American, 533. 
•Episcopal church, 523. 
Era in human progress, 529. 
Erskine's negotiation, 571. 
Eutaw Springs, battle, 497. 
Exploring Expedition, 684. 

Federal Union, 324. 

Federalist, the, 522. 

Federalist and anti-Federalist, 537. 

Ferguson, Colonel, 479. 

Fillmore, Millard, 778, 792. 

Financial disorders, 642, 652. 

Fitch, John, 643. 

Fletcher, Benjamin, 137, 185, 287. 

Florida, 12, 22 ; purchased, 648, a State, 69Z 

Foot's resolutions, debate, 663. 

Fort Frontenac, 227. 

Niagara, 227. 

Du Quesne, 232, 260. 

Necessity, 233. 

Edward, 243. 



INDEX. 



803 



Fort Williain Henry, 253. 
France, relations witli, 547-562. 
Franklin. Benjamin, 139, 235, 251, 279, 293, 

323, 378, 412, 611, 621. 
Franklin, Sir John, 783. 
Free Masonry, 658. 

Fremont, Jolin C, 733, 735, 744, 745, 792. 
Frcnoau, Philip, 540. 
Frolic, tiie, taken, 896. 
Fronteuac, 209. 
Fugitive slave law, 779. 
Fulton, Robert, 643. 

Gage, General, 237, 297, 305, 313, 328, 333. 

Gallatin, Albert, 642, 699, 615. 

Gaepe, revenue vessel, 300. 

Gates, Horatio, 241 ; sketch, 360, 389, 434, 
in the south, 473. 

Georgia, 166-166, 446 ; subdued, 4S3 ; In- 
dian lands in, 656, 662. 

Genet's miesion, 539, 640. 

Gerinantown, battle, 424. 

Germans in the colonies, 152, 136, 169, 217. 

Gerry, Elbridge, 620, 548. 

Gilbert, Sir Humphrey, 38. 

Gist, Christopher, 226, 231. 

Glover, Colonel, 376, 377. 

Goffe, 167, 173. 

Gorges, Sir Ferdinand, 89. 

Gosnotd, Bartholomew, 57. 

Gourges, Dominic de, 34. 

Graftenried do, 162. 

Grand Model, the, 142. 

Grant, Colonel, 259, 268. 
Dr., 687. 

Grasae, Count de, 498, 502, 605, 608. 

Green Mountain Bovs, 319. 

Greene, Nathaniel, General, 336, 358, 421, 
447 ; in the south, 482, 491, 494. 

Gridley, Colonel, 318, 328. 

Grundy, Felix, 579. 

Guerri^re captured, 596. 

Gunboats, Jeflersou'e, 562, 664. 

Hale, Nathan, 379. 

Hamilton, Alexander, 306, 604, 630, 631, 
637 ; death, 660. 

Hamilton, Andrew, 187, 

Hancock, John, 297, 313,323, 354, 453. 

Hand, Colonel, 373, 397. 

Hanson, Alexander, 686. 

Harmer, General, 534. 

Harrison, William Henry, 676, 699; Presi- 
dent, 677. 

Harrisburg Convention, 668. 

Hartford " 630. 

Harvard College, 91 

Harvey, Sir John, 98, 101. 

Haslet, Colonel, 374, 400. 

Hawkins, Sir John, 31. 

Hayne, Isaac, 496. 

Robert Y.,663. 

Haynes, John, 83. 

Heath, General, 316, 379, 380. 

Heieter de. General, 374. 

Henry VIII., 58. 

Patrick, 285, 289, 308, 320. 

Herkimer, General, 430, 431. 

Hessians, hired, 346, 415. 

Hiawatha, 199. 

Hobkirk's Hill, battle, 495. 

Hooker, Rev. Thomas, 83, 85. 

Horse-shoe, battle, 610. 

Houston, Samuel, 688, 689. 

Howe, Admiral, the, 369, 424, 452, 464. 

Sir William, 262, 327, 369, 378, 381, 
413, 420, 422, 423, 448. 



Howe, Robert, General, 466. 

Hudson, Henry, 112-114. 

Huguenots in the south, 29-34 ; in Canada, 

36, 146. 
Hull, Isaac, Captain, 595. 

William, General, 686, 687. 
Hurons, 197, 199, 202. 
Hutchinson, Anne, 80, 81. 

Governor, 299, 302. 

D'Ibberville, Lemoine, 215, 216. 
Impressment, British, 664, 683, 688, 683. 
Incidents, 103, 108, 120, 168, 334, 377, 695, 611. 
Indented servants, 104, 110, 408. 
Independence, question of, 364, 368. 
Indians, divisions of, 9 ; see names of 

tribes. 
Indians, efforts to convert, 93, 101, 122, 

176, 662. 
Indiana, State, 642. 
Indigo, 282. 

Individual responsibility, 799. 
Influence, men of, 181. 

of the Dutch, 127. 
Influences, religious, 273-276, 365, 799. 
Inoculation, 194. 
Internal improvements, 666. 
Iowa a State, 692. 
Isabella, Queen, 3, 5. 

Jack, Captain, 236. 

Jackson, Andrew, 603, 610, 633, 647 ; Presi- 
dent, 661-672. 

James I., 45, 46, 81, 63, 97. 
li., 177, 208. 

Jamestown, 47 ; burned, 107. 

Jasper, Sergeant, 362. 

Java, tlie, taken, 596. 

Jay, .John, 309, 611; Chief Justice, 631; 
Mission, 543. 

Jefferson, Thomas, 323. 367, 523; Sec. of 
State, 531, 637 ; V. P. 646 ; President, 
665-670 ; death, 667. 

Jesuits, 35, 197, 202, 212. 

Jogues, Father, 200. 

Johnson, Sir William, 235, 248, 334. 
John, 362, 430. 
Colonel Rich. M., 603, V. P. 672. 

Joliet, Father, 203. 

Jones, John Paul, 466. 

Kalb, Baron de, 411, 419, 471, 475. 

Kane, Dr. B. K., 783. 

Kansas, affairs in, 790. 

Kearney^ General, 768. 

Kieft, William, 117-122. 

King's Mountain, battle, 481. 

Kittanning destroyed, 251. 

Knowlton, Colonel, 330, 381. 

Knox, Henry, 347, 355, 393, 615 ; Sec. of 

War, 630. 
Knyphausen, General, 422, 470. 
Kosciusko, Thaddeus, 419, 492. 

Lafayette, Marquis de, 418, 450, 503 ; visit 

of, 653. 
Lake Champlain, action on, 622. 
Erie " 619. 

Lane, James H., Gen., 718, 764. 

Ralph, 40, 41. 
La Salle, 204-206. 
Laurens, Henry, 322, 484, 511. 
Lawrence, James, Captain, 601. 
Lecompton Convention, 793. 
Ledyard, the traveller, 8. 

Colonel, 603. 
Lee, Arthur, 412. 



804 



INDEX. 



Lee, Chai-Ics, General, 258, 333, 351, 386, 
390; treaeon, 448 ; death, 452. 

General Henry, 446, 482, 493, 662, 586. 

Richard Henry, 285, 307, 309, 367. 
Leisler Jacol), 182-186. 
Leon, Juan Ponce de, 12. 
Levant and Cyane captured, 640. 
Lexin^on and Concord, battle, 314. 
Libraries, 798. 
Lincoln, Beii.jamin, General. 313, 435, 456, 

459, 462, 467, 601, 669. 
L'lnenrgeute, frigate, captured, 552 
Little Belt, afl'air of, 575. 
Livingston, Robert K., 823, 367, 656, 643. 

William, 290, 307. 
Lloyd, Senator, 582. 
Locke, John, 142. 
Long Island, battle, 373-377. 
Lopez, General, 782. 
Louisburg taken, 220 ; again, 257. 
Loudon, Lord, 252,' 256. 
Louisiana, 205 ; purchased, 666. 
Lyman, Genera], 248. 
Lyttleton, Lord, 267. 

Madison, James, 622 ; Sec. of State, 666 • 

President, 671, 579, 683, 698, 615, 624! 

629, 639, 643. 
Macedonian taken, 696. 
Macdonough, Commodore, 622. 
Magazine, first American, 140. 
ilagaw. Colonel, 3S4. 
Manifesto of the British government, 614. 
Manufactures, colonial, restrictions on, 

148, 168, 282. 
Manufactures, domestic, 633, 665, 658, 769 
Marcy, William L., 738, 762, 753. 
Marion, General Francis, 472, 495. 
Marquette, James, 203, 204. 
Marshall, John, 548, 550, 663 ; death, 670. 

Colonel Humphrey, 717. 
Maryland, 100, 102 ; troubles. 111, 277. 
Mason, George, 298, 621. 
Mason, Captain John, 86, 87. 
Massachusetts, 74, 90, 168, 220, 615, 628, 

632. ''!.., 

Massasoit, 70, 71, 176. 
Matamoras occupied, 704. 
Mather, Cotton, 189-194. 

Increase, 188. 
May, Colonel, 702, 723. 
Mayhew, Thomas, 94. 
Mechlenburg declaration. 322. 
Meg.apolensis, Dnniine, 122, 200. 
Meigs, Colonel, 407, 600. 
McCrea, Jcnnv, 429. 
McCulloch, Major, 715. 
McHe]iry, Fort, defended, 627. 
Melendez, Pedro, 32, 33. 
Mercer, General Hugh, 371, .398. 

Fort, defended, 426. 
Mesilla Valley purchased, 7S6. 
Methodist Episcopal Church, 162, 624 
Mifflin, Thomas, 321, 370, 617 ; Gov., 542. 
Miantonomoh, 85, 86. 
Minuits, Peter, 115, 123. 
Mississippi, 25, 203. 
Missions, Jesuit, 35, 198, 201, 202, 208. 

Spanish, 149. 
Missouri Compromise, 648-661. 
Mobilian tribes, 9. 
Mohawks, or Huron-Iroquois, 9, 117, 119, 

199, 208, 334, 414. 
Mohegans, 84, 118, 121. 
Monongahela, battle, 237. 

first settlers on, 541. 
Molino del Rey, battle, 760. 



Monmouth, battle, 450. 

Monroe, James, 394, 647, 665 ; Sec. of 

State, 607 ; President, 644-654. 
Monroe doctrine, 652. 
Monterey c.-iptured, 706. 
Montcalm, 253. 264, 268 ; death, 265. 
Montgomery, Richard, 339, 342. 
Monts, Sieur de, 35. 
Morality, laws enioining, 66, 136, 275. 
.Moravians, 169, 161, 164, 609. 
Morgan, Daniel, 336, 342, 420, 434, 489 
Mormons, 771^781. 
Morris, Gouvernenr, 540. 

Robert, 600. 
Morse, Samuel F. B., 796. 
Moultrie, Fort, 361. 
Muhlenburg, Colonel, 404. 

Narragansets, 169, 174. 
Nashville, 465. 
Natchez, 217, 218. 
National Bank, 532. 

debts assumed, 632. 
Bank, 642. 
flag, 409. 
NaT.al eflbrts, 345, 346. 
Navy, the, 404, 646, 693. 

department of, 530. 
Nebraska bill, 787. 
Nelson, Governor, 604. 
Newark burned, 608. 
New Amsterdam, 115, 124. 

York city, 113, 114, 674. 

York province, 127. 

Netherland, 115, 126. 

Sweden, 124. 

Jersey, 128. 

Haven, 88. 

France, 196. 

Orleans, 217 ; battle, 635. 

London burned, 603. 

Lights 223, 286. 
Nicholson, Francis, 155, 182, 
Nipmucks, 172, 176. 
Norfolk burned, 362. 
North, Lord, 299, 301, 442, 611. 
Nullification, 666. 

O'Brien, Captain, 720, 725. 
Oglethorpe, 166-166. 
Ohio Company, 225. 

State of," 666. 
Old Lights, 223. 
Opechancanongh, 96, 97, 103. 
Orders in Council, 681, 688. 
Ordinance of 1787, 522. 
Oregon, boundary, 695-698. 

emigration to, 732 ; State of, 733. 
Otis, James, 284, 296. 

Packenham, General, 635, 637. 

Palu Alto, battle, 700. 

Parker, Sir Peter, 361. 

Parliament, measures of, 346. 

Parris, Samuel, 190-194. 

Patroons, 116. 

Penn, William, 131-139, 291. 

Pennsylvania, 133 ; settlers, German, 136 ; 

Presbyterian, 138 ; Western, 641. 
Pepperell, William, 220. 
Pequods, war with, 84-88. 
Perry, Commodore, 787. 

O. H., 602. 
Philadelphia, 134 ; taken, 424. 
Philip's, King, war, 169-176. 
Phillips, General, 414. 489. 
Phipps, Sir William, 191, 211. 



1 



INDEX. 



805 



Pierce, Franklin, "56, 786. 

Pilerims in Holland, 62-64. 

Pilgrim Fathers, 66. 

Piackiiey. Cliarles C, 547. 

Pitcairn, Major, 315, 333. 

Pitt, William, 256, 292, 310. 

Pittsburg, 260, 270. 

Pizarro, 14. 

Pocahontas, 49, 52, 64. 

Polk, James K., 091 ; President, 693, 704, 

710. 
Pontiac, 269-272. 
Porter, Captain, 611. 
Portland burned, 345. 
Powhatan, 48, 49. 
Prejudices, sectional, 348, 371. 
Presbyterians, 129, 138, 141, 147, 151, 274, 

624, 541. 
President, frigate, taken, 640. 
Prescott, Colonel William, 328, 381. 

General, capture of, 416. 
Press, the, 91, 105, 135, 177, 797. 

liberty of, vindicated, 187. 
Preston, Captain, 298. 
Princeton, battle, 397. 
Prisoners of "war. 402, 514. 
Prevost, Sir George, 599, 621. 
Provost, Bishop, 629. 
Pulaski, Count, 419, 423, 462. 
Puritans, 60, 102, 168. 
Putnam, Israel, 248, 317, 330, 374, 402. 

Quakers, 92, 130, 136, 147, 279. 
Quebec Act, 304. 

founded, 36, 262, 266, 341. 
Queenstown attacked, 590. 
Quincy, Josiah, 298. 

Josiah, jr., 582. 
Quitman, John, 'General, 707. 

Kaisin River, battle, 599. 

Rahl, Colonel, 392, 394. 

Raleigh, Sir Walter, 39, 41 ; death, 43. 

Randolph, Edmund, 521, 531. 

.John. 580. 
Rawdon, Lord, 495, 496. 
Reed, Adjutant. general, 392, 396. 
Reformation, the, 27, 28. 
Republics, South American, 646. 
Republican parties, 538, 792. 
Repudiation, 676. 
Resaca de la Falma, battle, 702. 
Revere, Paul, 303, 315. 
Revival, great, 223. 
Revolt of soldiers, 486. 
Revolution, war of, 311-512. 

French, 538. 
Rhode Island, 81, 91, 92, 168, 691 
Rice, 148. 

Ringgold, Major, 701. 
Riots at Baltimore, 586. 
Rivington'fl Gazette, 350. 
Roberval, Lord of, 20, 21. 
Robertson, James, 464. 
Robinson, Rev. John, 61, 64. 
Rochambeau, Count de, 472, 500. 
Rodgers, Captain, 574. 
Ross, General Robert, 623, 627. 
Russell, Lord .John, 553. 
Rutledge, Edward, 378. 

Sabbath, the, 135, 241, 275. 

Samoset, 70. 

Santa Anna, 685, 6S8, 710, 714, 716-728, 

749, 754, 764. 
Santa Fo taken, 739. 
San Jacinto, battle, 688. 



Saratoga, the surrender, 437. 
SassacuB, 86, 87. 
Savannah, 158, 462. 
Sayle, William, 144. 
Schenectady burned, 210. 
Schools, 91, 104, 135, 276, 278, 797. 
Schuyler, Peter, 214. 

General Philip, 333, 337, 339, 

360, 408, 416, 428, 431. 
Scott, Lieutenant-General Winfield, 591, 

617, 662 ; Mexican War, 705, 713, 746, 

755. 
Sears, Robert, 321, 350. 
Seminoles, 150 ; war with, 646, 670. 
Shawnees, 199, 227. 
Shay's rebellion, 518. 
Sherlock, Bishop, 285. 
Sherman, Roger, 367. 
Shingi9, 230, 251. 
Silk culture, 167, 161. 
Sioux or Dahcotahs, 9, 202. 
Slater, Samuel, 634. 
Slave law, fugitive, 779. 

representation, 621, 631. 
trade, 309,'366, 367, 622, 682. 
Slavery in the colonies, 96, 126, 146, 161, 

166, 278, 281. 
Slavery in the territories, 522, (>49, 773, 

775, 777, 788. 
Slavery discussion on, 772, 778. 
Slaves in British army, 514. 
Slonghter, Colonel Henry, 183, 184. 
Smith, John, 47-52, 58. 

Joseph, 779. 
Smugglers, English, 163. 
Society for propogating the Gospel in 

foreign parts, 151, 159. 
Soto, de, 22-26. 
Sons of Liberty, 290, 321. 
Squanto, 58, 70, 
St. Clair, General, 403, 414-416 ; defeat, 

535. 
St. Leger, General, 430. 
Specie Circular, 674. 
Speculation, 673, 674, 676. 
Stamp Act, 288, 293. 
Standish, Miles, 66, 72. 
Stark, John, 248, 317, 330, 393 ; Bennington, 

432. 
State Department, 346. 
Stephenson, Fort, defended, 600. 
Steuben, Baron de, 446, 498. 
Stirling, Lord, General, 375. 
Stockton, Commodore, 737. 
Stonington bombarded, 628. 
Stony Point, taken, 461. 
Stoughton, Williiim, 178, 191-194. 
Stuyvesant Peter, 122-126. 
Susquehannas, 100, 105. 
Sub-Treasury, 675. 
Sullivan, John, General, 312, 358, 373, 391. 

421, 453, 458. 
Sumter, General, 472. 

Talleyrand, 549. 
Taney, Roger B., 669. 

TariUs, 632, 642, 653, 659, 660, 665, 667, 769. 
Tarleton, Colonel, 468, 489. 
Taxes, parliamentary, 283, 287, 296. 
Taylor, Zachary, 570 -.Mexican war, 695, 
699, 702, 706, 721 ; President, 771, 778. 
Tea taxed, 295, 301 ; destroyed, 303. 
Tecumseh, 675, 600, 603. 
Telegraph, the, 796. 
Temperance Movement, 798. 
Tennent, Rev. William, 224. 
Territory, North-west, 522. 



806 



INDEX. 



TexaB annexation, 684-691 

Thames, battle, 603. 

Thanksgiving day, 72 

Thomas, General, 338, 355, 359. 

i norason, Charles, 307 
Ticonderoga taken, 319, and 415. 

lippecanoe, battle, 677 

1 deration, 102. 
Tompkins, Daniel D., 643 
Tones, 299, 614, 618 

i77,'28T''"' "° ■ ««'"'="0''S, 146, 168, 

Treasury Department, 367, 630. 

JrcatieswithKngland, 612; Jay's 644 at 

Tr»i?/"="'\?l' ■■" Washin4ton^82 ■ 
Ireaties with Spain, 645, 648 

Algiers, 645, 641. 

Mexico, 767. 

Japan, 787. 

Ottoman empire, 672 
T>„„. I „, Indians, 636, 642. 
Trenton, battle, 392. 

T^!!!;^ ^■' <=°"°iissioner, 762, 760, 767 
Irjon, Governor, 350, 406, 460 
1 uscaroras, 162, 153 
Tyler, John, 678-692 



Uncas, 86, 123, 169. 
United colonics of New England 90 
Thirteen, 344. 
States, 368 

Union Flag, 349. 

Valley Forge, 440. 
Van Buren, Martin, 673-676 
Vane, Harry, 78, 80, 167. ' 
Vaudreuil, 214, 266. 
Vera Cruz taken, 747. 
Verrazzaui, 17, is. 
Vespucci, Ameriio, 6. 
Virginia, 40, 45, 96. 
Volunteers ; Mexican War, 705. 

Waldron, M.ajor ''09 

Walker, Robert J., 793 

WaUoous, first settlers on Long Island 

Wampanoags, 169, 172. 
Wamsutta, death of, 170 
Warren, Dr. Joseph, 314, S33. 
War declared against England, 584 

Department, 357. 
Wars with England, 684-64" 

Wars, Ki,]?,"S''C°'fir°' "'' '''' "*■ 



Wars of the Revolution, 311-612 

with Tripoli, 657. 

King William's, 208 
Washington, Fort, taken, 384 

"S- on 9^°'''^'"' ^■""'h. 227-229, 230. 
^X:' i'' ■^°" commauder-in-chief 32^; 
337, 356 380, 383, 3S5, 392-398, iS 42^^ 

617, 620; President, 627-846; death 
Washington, John, 106. 

Colonel William, 490, 495 
w„™ . .City pillaged, 626. 

Webster, Daniel, 613, 629, 664 ; Sec of 
, State, 680, 774 ; de.ath, 784 ' "^ 

' w!!'hh''°}'"u'"^ Charles, 161, 162. 

Wetherford, the chief, 609, 610 

W heelock. Rev. E , "94 

Whigs, 209. 

Whiskey Insurrection, 641-543 

Wliitefleld, George, 162, 220 221 

White Plains, b.attle, 382 ' 

Whitney, Eli, 656. 

Wilkinson, James, General, 390, 605, 607, 

William III., 136, 180. 
Wilhams, Eunice, 213. 

Colonel E., 249, 250 
O. H.,491.' 
wi . J^°ei^''' '*• '8. 85, 91, 175 
Wilmot Proviso, 772. 
Winchester, General, 699 
Winder, General, 623-625 
Wiuslow, Edward, 66, 69, 71 79 
Wintbrop, John, 76. ' ' • 
iir- T. John, jr., 168. 
Wise, Rev. John, 179 
Witchcraft, Salem, 188-194. 
Witherspoon, Dr. 307. 
Wolfe, James, 257, 263-265 
Wool, John E., 691, 7067717 710 700 
Wooster, General, 339, 406 

%1 '"'""="° "J- ™6, 709, 713, 749, 757 
Writs of Assistance, 283 
Wyoming, ruin of, 464 ; revenged, 458. 

Tamasees, 152, 154. 
Yeamans, gir John, 143, 146 
Yeardley, George, 56, 98 
1 ork, taken, 606. 
Vorktown, siege of, 503-505 



Zenger, John Peter, 187. 



65 

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